Dragon Ball R
by TF2 Crossover Man
Summary: A strange incident occurs on Planet Namek, sending Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Bulma, Dende, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Frieza to the world of Remnant. There, heroes will have to team up to save Remnant from evil forces that threaten to wipe out the world from existence. Will they succeed? Or will they fall under the rule of Frieza? A concept similar to J-Dude2470's story "Transposition F".
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: Hello everyone and welcome to my story, Dragon Ball R. I haven't written a fanfiction in a few years and have decided to take up the art once more by combining Dragon Ball Z and RWBY, which are both up there with my favorite franchises. All I will say is that I hope you enjoy this and if you any questions, comments or criticism, please write them in the review section. As stated in the summary, this story is partially inspired by the story "Transition F" by J-Dude2470, though I will be going about it in a different way. However, still go check his story out if you haven't, it is quite the read! Last but not least, I do not own Dragon Ball Z or RWBY of course.**

On a remote planet by the name of Namek, a furious race has reached its climax. A group of visitors have finally gathered up the seven magical Dragon Balls, that summon a wish granting dragon, to wish their friends back from the dead after a devastating turn of events on their home planet, Earth.

During the race for the Dragon Balls, the natives of Namek, an alien race called Namekians, have been brutally massacred by an evil galactic space tyrant during his own search for the Dragon Balls. Only two Namekians remain. A young child Namekian, who is helping the visitors from Earth, and an old wise Namekian who is the creator of the Dragon Balls. There had been one more, a powerful guardian who was the strongest of the Namekians, but he had just lost his life to the tyrant in an attempt to buy time for the visitors.

Now, two of the heroes are about to summon the dragon. One is a small kid of about four, with black hair done in a bowl cut and a confident but adorable face. Despite his young age, he is well built and has incredible strength.

Next to the kid, stood a bald human dwarf. Though he was barely taller than the kid, he too was well built and powerful but he seemed to have a less confident air about him. One of his only distinct features was six small dots on his forehead, a result of his monk training back on Earth.

The kid and dwarf were both wearing a type of battle armor that many aliens use. It had long shoulder and leg pads that were connected to the hard body of the armor. On their arms and legs, they wore simple tight sleeves and pants that ended in white gloves and boots respectively. The armor was state of the art, durable yet flexible allowing the user to fight as naturally as if doing so naked.

Finally, the Namekian child stood before them in front of the seven Dragon Balls. The Namekians were green humanoid creatures, with small antennae on the head and pink biceps. As a child, these features were not as distinctly shown, however the green skin is hard to miss.

Behind him, the seven Dragon Balls lay on the ground. Large orange orbs as big as bowling balls that each had stars corresponding to their number from 1 to 7.

At this point, the Namekian child faced the two visitors from Earth and asked, "Are we ready?"

"Yeah, I guess so," said the bald monk nervously. He turned to look at the kid beside him. "Are we forgetting anything, Gohan?"

The kid, Gohan, shook his head eagerly. "No and we should do it sooner than later. I don't know how long Vegeta will stay asleep. Besides, Krillin," his expression turned serious, "there's also Him."

As if on cue, a strong breeze blew among them and suddenly the three companions tensed up in terror.

"Oh god!" Gohan cried, fear in his voice, "He's on his way! I can feel his energy approaching and fast!"

"It's… it's insane," Krillin stuttered, "His power is horrifying! Dende, we need to summon the dragon NOW!"

Dende quickly nodded and turned around towards the Dragons Balls and began to chant something in an unfamiliar tongue. The seven orbs glowed bright and light began shooting out from them high into the sky. As Gohan and Krillin watched, the light began to coil and spiral in the air until it had taken the shape of a massive green dragon with a large head, muscular body and forearms and a tail that was anchored to the Dragon Balls. All around it grew dark as the Namek sky was covered in dark clouds.

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, a green lake lay quiet and undisturbed, the water as clear as glass. Suddenly, the lake erupted into a shower of spray as a figure flew over at incredible speed leaving behind a dry path across the lake.

The figure kept flying, an angry blue aura surrounding him. As he flew, he cursed out loud and yelled at the top of his lungs in a murderous tone.

"THOSE VILE FILTHY MAGGOTS! I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT I WAS TRICKED BY SUCH AN IMPUDENT RACE! THOSE DRAGON BALLS WILL BE MINE AND ANYONE IN MY PATH WILL SUFFER AN EXCRUCIATING DEATH!"

All of a sudden, the sky grew dark. Clouds formed quickly and bunched together in a mass that blocked out the stars and neighboring planets. Lightning crackled across the sky. The figure halted momentarily, surprised at the sudden change in atmosphere. Then something caught his eye. Far in the distance, a green shape resembling a dragon was outlined against the dark horizon. The rage returned and with a roar, the figure rocketed toward the dragon leaving a wake of destruction.

* * *

"Oh, wow," Krillin gasped, staring up at the towering dragon, "Man, he is much bigger than our dragon. I wonder what Bulma would think of this."

Looming over the trio, the dragon now spoke in a deep booming voice. "I am the eternal dragon Porunga. You have summoned me from the seven Dragon Balls. I shall grant you three wishes."

Krillin looked surprised. "Three wishes. We usually only get two." Then he smiled. "Well can't complain about that!"

Gohan nodded excitedly, but Dende broke the mood. "You need to wish quickly! I can feel that terrifying energy drawing nearer and not to mention Vegeta may wake any second now!"

Krillin nodded. "You're right, Dende. Tell him we want him to bring back everyone that was killed on Earth by the Saiyans."

Dende turned back to Porunga and, in his strange language, relayed the wish to the dragon. Porunga seemed to consider for a second before replying, "I cannot grant this wish. I can only revive one being per wish."

"And there's the catch," Krillin grumbled. Gohan looked disheartened with the response as well and was just about to ask Krillin what to do next when a stern voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

"Gohan! Can you hear me!?"

Gohan gasped. He recognized that voice anywhere. It was the voice of his master Piccolo, a Namekian that had lived on Earth and had died saving Gohan from a threat that had attacked Earth. Upon his death, the Dragon Balls that had existed on Earth had vanished due to a link he had with the guardian of Earth and the creator of the Dragon Balls.

"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan yelled happily, drawing the attention of Krillin and Dende, "Is that you? How can I hear you?"

Krillin and Dende stared at him. "Um… buddy?" Krillin ventured carefully, "I didn't hear nobody. Definitely not Piccolo."

In Gohan's mind, Piccolo's voice spoke once more. "I am talking to you telepathically through King Kai. The guy that trained your father when he died. He has been monitoring your progress so far."

"You're at King Kai's?" Gohan asked, "If you're there are Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaoutzu there?"

"Yes, but we don't have time to talk about that," Piccolo said urgently, "I need you to wish me back with the Dragon Balls. If I come back, so does Kami and with him, the Earth's Dragon Balls will be restored."

"I guess that makes sense," Gohan said. He then relayed the information to Krillin who nodded his approval. "Alright, Mr. Piccolo, we will do it."

"One more thing," Piccolo's voice said with a hard edge, "I want you to bring me to Namek so I can fight this monster who has slaughtered my people. Such actions will not go unanswered!"

The last few words were spoken with such anger and hatred that it took Gohan a second to collect his thoughts once more. Before he could make a decision he heard another voice speak up.

"Are you crazy, Piccolo? You will just get yourself killed again!"

It was King Kai, a sort of god that manages over a part of the universe. His specialty was the north side of the universe.

Piccolo simply grunted in response.

"I will not stand by idly any longer as my race and my planet get destroyed violently! This is not a request, Gohan, it's a demand!"

Gohan was silent for a couple of seconds. He was tempted to tell his old mentor no and keep him safe by only bringing him back and having him stay on Earth. However, after all the boy had seen in the past few days, the carnage and the pain of the Namekians, he knew that Piccolo had the right to come. He nodded grimly and once again relayed the info to Krillin.

"Two wishes for Piccolo?" Krillin asked, "Guess that's fine as long as the Earth's Dragon Balls are back." He told Dende the two desired wishes and once again Dende told the dragon their wishes.

This time, Porunga did not need to hesitate. His eyes glowed red as his boomed, "Your wish has been granted!"

"Great!" Gohan said, "Now we just need to decide what we are going to do with our last- "

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!"

Gohan, Krillin, and Dende all flinched at the voice. They turned to see a man with tall spiky black hair wearing battle armor and blue tights glowering at them, his fists clenched. His face conveyed a look of pure rage as he stared down each of the three.

"So, you summoned the dragon without me huh?" asked Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans. While no longer a soldier of the tyrant's army, Vegeta's pride and ferocity had never died down. He was still just as violent and arrogant as he had been when he had attack Earth, causing the deaths of many of their friends, including Piccolo. Now, they had met him once more on Namek also pursuing the Dragon Balls. However, out of common interest in staying alive against the tyrant, they had formed an unlikely alliance.

Unfortunately, this did not mean they were the best of friends now.

"Ah crap," Krillin yelped terrified. Despite his strength, he was nowhere near Vegeta's Saiyan might. "Well, you see we were just- "

Suddenly, Vegeta tensed up and sharply looked to his right, a look of horror dawning on his face. He rushed forward and seized Dende before Gohan or Krillin could react.

"Brat! I need you to make me immortal!" Vegeta spluttered frantically, "It's the only way I will be able to defeat Him! Hurry!"

Krillin stepped up next to him and despite his fear of him, tried to pull Vegeta away from Dende. "We can't do that! If you're immortal, you will just use it for your own evil gains!"

Vegeta turned sharply towards Krillin. "You don't understand do you!? If I'm not immortal, we are all going to die anyway!" He turned back to Dende and yelled, "Did you not hear me!? Wish it!"

Dende stammered, too scared to do anything. His reluctance to giving Vegeta his wish was well supported since he knew that Vegeta had killed many Namekians during his time on Namek while searching for the Dragon Balls himself. However, he then felt the ungodly power approaching fast, and he made up his mind.

Turning to Porunga, Dende began to speak the wish but the words died on his mouth. The dragon was smoking, dissolving into a gray steamy mass. The other three noticed and stared aghast as the eternal dragon Porunga melted away, leaving behind seven gray stones on the ground. The sky around them began to clear as the clouds dispersed as quickly as the dragon had done. Within seconds, the landscape was back to normal as if nothing had transpired.

"What… what happened?" Vegeta asked hoarsely, "Did I get my wish?"

Dende sunk his head low and shook his head. "No. Lord Guru, the creator of the Dragon Balls has perished. His time had been coming for a while now."

Gohan walked up to Dende and put a hand on his shoulder gently. "I'm sorry for your loss. He was a brave and wise Namekian who helped us all out."

Krillin nodded sadly, but Vegeta was not so sentimental. He was outraged.

"But what about my wish!" he asked angrily, "I need that wish! If I'm not immortal, then I can't beat- "He stopped dead in his tracks. The other three looked at him and saw that his gaze was now fixed on a hill just a few yards away and his angry expression had changed to a look of absolute terror. They followed his gaze and quickly realized why.

"Oh, god, no," Krillin croaked, his skin turning pale.

Atop the hill, staring down at them was an alien figure. His horned head and long tail were terrifying enough, however, it was his face that brought true horror to the companions down below. As he looked down, his purple lips curled into a cruel smile and his icy red eyes, one of which was covered by a see-through red screen that connected to a device attached to the ear, conveyed a look of absolute hatred.

"Well, well," the tyrant spoke, his voice surprisingly calm and polite as if he was at a diplomatic meeting, "it seems you have ruined my chance for immortality."

Gohan, Krillin, Vegeta, and Dende all stared back in horror and could only think of one thing to say in return.

"FRIEZA!"

Lord Frieza, ruler of the galaxy and landowner of most planets, chuckled as he floated down from his hill and until he stood level with the others. His smile never wavered, but neither did his eyes.

"I hope you're happy with yourself, Vegeta," Frieza said, his voice not changing, "I knew I should have killed you when I had the chance but I guess I only have myself to blame for that part."

He chuckled once more, but this time he could not suppress a slight bit of hysteria. The four stared at him, frozen in fear of what would await them once his veneer shattered and let forth a tidal wave of fury.

Freiza stopped chuckling and scanned the area around him as if searching for something. Then he once again spoke to the four.

"By any chance, do you know where the Ginyu Force is? I can't seem to find them with my scouter," he indicated the device attached to his ear, "am I to assume that they are dead?"

They didn't respond. None of them seemed to notice a small green frog a few yards away trying to hide behind a rock. Frieza took their silence as an answer. "Ah very well. I guess if you want to get something done, you do it yourself." He tried to chuckle again but this time it turned into a growl of anger. His fists clenched tightly and as rage began to leak out.

"Your worthless maggots," he snarled through clenched teeth, "you will pay. YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! I WILL OBLITERATE ALL OF YOU!" He roared the last sentence as the polite composed veneer shattered and a shockwave burst forth from him, blasting the observers in a sudden heat of power.

"Impossible…," Krillin stammered, shaking uncontrollably. Gohan and Dende didn't say anything, petrified by the burst of power. A few miles away in a ship, Gohan's father, Goku, stirred slightly in the healing pod in reaction to the power outburst.

Only Vegeta seemed unperturbed. He discarded his look of terror for a smirk as he stared down the livid tyrant.

"Oh, look at poor old Frieza," he taunted, "outsmarted by a couple of Earthlings and useless Namekians. Honestly, I can't say you didn't deserve this."

Everyone stared at Vegeta in shock, including Frieza who was surprised at Vegeta's gall. Vegeta just laughed at his shocked expression and continued on saying, "However, that won't be your last mistake Frieza. I have grown much stronger since you last saw me. With this power, I will be able to take you down!"

He began laughing at the tyrant. Gohan, Krillin, and Dende stared in awe and fear at Vegeta as he openly taunted and laughed at the lord of the universe. Vegeta was so preoccupied that it took him a second to realize he wasn't the only one laughing. He stopped and saw that Frieza was cackling coldly, his face in an ugly sneer.

"Oh, Vegeta," Frieza said softly, "I don't think you realize just how foolish you sound. Have you forgotten who I am?" He crouched down slightly and tensed his body. "Let me refresh your memory." Another wave of power burst forth from Frieza as he suddenly lunged forward towards Vegeta.

However, at that moment, several things happened at once. The gray stones that used to be Dragon Balls blazed with a bright light that blinded everyone around. The light began to cover the landscape until the entire planet was shrouded in light. Then a loud sound boomed out and shook Planet Namek. Within a second the sound died out and the light disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the planet the same as it was. Only one thing had changed. The planet was completely deserted.

* * *

In the world of Remnant, a group of four teens were walking down a small path heading to a nearby town. Despite this strange appearance, these were no ordinary teens. These were Huntsmen, armed with weapons and auras that protected them and allowed them to use a unique ability known as a Semblance.

Leading the group was a sixteen-year-old girl with dark red hair over her an undeniably cute face that consisted of a thin mouth and silver eyes. She wore a black combat blouse and skirt. Slung over her back, she carried a retractable scythe that could also act as a sniper rifle.

Beside her, a boy of about eighteen was consulting a map as they walked. The light breeze ruffled his short blonde hair despite the black hoodie he was wearing over his head. Along with the hoodie, he was wearing a white chest plate with golden trimming that matched the armor he wore on his fingers and knees. Strapped to his hip was a white sheath, a sword hilt protruding from the opening.

In the back, a boy and a girl, both of about 18, were walking side by side. The boy had long black hair with a small streak of purple that matched the color of his eyes. His outfit was a green tailcoat that he wore over his turtleneck. Slung on each hip were small green pistols with hooked blade attachments. He was silent as the girl next to him talked nonstop, discussing things of little pertinence.

She was an energetic girl by sight. She had orange hair and cheerful green eyes that always seemed to have a glint in them. Her pink skirt was held on by an equally pink belt and her white boots contained pink laces. Slung over her back was a silver grenade launcher, complete with pink grenades.

The four of them had been walking down the same path for a while now, on their way to a place that could take them to the city of Mistra. They had set out a few months ago from the isle of Patch and a few months after the tragedy that had befallen them back at their academy, Beacon, in the kingdom of Vale. Many of them still had nightmares about that night. However, it was part of the reason that were heading to Mistral. They needed help to combat the forces of evil that were currently taking control of Remnant.

On one hand, there was the evil witch Cinder, who had killed a dear friend to gain a power of a powerful being known as a Maiden. Along with her, a terrorist organization of radical faunus, people with animal characteristics, called the White Fang led by Adam Taurus, and a force even worse than both that seemed to be pulling the strings though they still didn't know who it was. And of course, there were the Grimm, the constant enemy that took on the shapes of many sorts of horrifying creatures and fed off of negative emotions. During the attack, they had played a big role in terrorizing them and were now appearing more frequently around Remnant ever since.

As Huntsman, they believed they were responsible for the fate of Remnant and, with the help of other Huntsman, they could vanquish the evil. But they also had personal feelings that had goaded them on such a dangerous quest.

"I think we may have made a wrong turn," the blonde-haired boy said as he consulted the map critically, "We should have turned right instead of left."

The red haired girl turned and pouted, "What!? You were telling us that this way was the way for sure!"

Behind her, the orange hair girl momentarily stopped her incessant babble and put on a similar pout. "Yeah, Jaune! You were all like, 'left is the way to go because I'm so smart'."

Jaune Arc knitted his eyebrows. "I never said that. You said that, Nora, and you agreed with her, Ruby. In fact, you wouldn't take no for an answer."

The two girls tried to look as offended as they could. Nora Valkyrie turned to the boy beside her and pleaded, "He's lying, Ren! We would never do something like that!"

Lie Ren let out an exasperated sigh and exchanged looks with Jaune before replying calmly, "Actually you did say that. You actually wrestled the map out of his hand to show him your reasoning." He turned to face Ruby Rose, "and you agreed with everything she said and made an 'executive' decision."

Ruby and Nora, seeing that their argument was hopeless, sighed sadly and turned to walk back the road they had just come, the boys following them.

"It's just so annoying. This is the third time this has happened," Ruby complained. Then she said in a more serious undertone, "At this rate, we will never get to Mistral."

The others didn't respond, the silliness of the moment dying out with those words as they were reminded of why they were on their quest. Ruby was especially sobered by the reminder. She had run away from home to go on this quest despite urgings from her father not to. She had left without much word to him or her older sister, Yang Xiao Long, besides a brief note. The guilt chewed at her, but she did not once think of going back. Now, with another setback, she was beginning to have her doubts. What could a group of young Huntsmen actually do? They were fighting an enemy more experienced, more influential and far more powerful than they were. They had already proven that a few months ago when they had attacked their Huntsman academy, Beacon, causing the deaths of many, including her good friends, and the collapse of Beacon entirely.

As a result, Ruby's team had been split up and she had been left at home to recover. Not being happy with this arrangement, she asked Jaune, Nora and Ren to accompany her to Mistral which they had agreed too despite still grieving for their own teammate, Pyrrha Nikos, who had been one of the casualties during the attack.

Now, all that guilt, sadness and hopelessness rushed in on Ruby and she choked out a sob. The other three heard and quickly caught up to her.

"Hey," Jaune said soothingly, "It's alright. We don't have much to walk-"

"DON'T SAY THAT!" Ruby cried, louder than she was expecting and lowering her voice she continued shakily, "Don't say that it's alright, Jaune. It isn't. I asked you all to join me on a stupid quest that is hopeless from the start."

The other three exchanged looks. For once, Nora couldn't think of anything to say. Ren glanced at Jaune and nodded silently to him. Jaune understood.

"Look, Ruby, we came because we wanted to. We believe that we need to do something about what happened to Beacon and…," Jaune's breath caught for a second but he forced himself to carry on, "Pyrrha. You believed we needed to do something as well. We can get help at Mistral and then-"

"Then what, Jaune?" Ruby once again cut him off. "Then what? Are we just going to be able to defeat Cinder and all the others just like that? It's nonsense. I was foolish and believed that we could actually do something. But that won't happen. Help won't just fall out of the sky and give us a chance to-"

At that instant, a bright light blazed a few yards away. The group covered their eyes as the light flashed a few times. Just before they could ask themselves what was happening, the light disappeared, leaving behind three figures on the ground. A kid and a dwarf wearing strange armor and a small green person wearing robes.

"Help from the sky…," Jaune whispered aghast as they all looked at the newcomers with a mixture of fear and wonder. No one stirred. Then Ruby, swallowing back her feelings, turned to her friends.

"We need check if they are okay," she said before rushing forward with the other behind her.

* * *

In the Schnee Mansion, located in the kingdom of Atlas, the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company was currently locked up in her room. It was a cozy enough room though it did not have much to offer. It was almost completely silver colored and dominated by a large four-poster bed of the same color. A dresser, table, and windows were the only other things that occupied the room.

Weiss Schnee sat on her bed, cradling her knees as she wept silently. She was a gorgeous girl of about eighteen, with long silver hair that was pull back into a long pony tail. Her face was sharp, but beautiful with the only imperfection being a small scar that ran down her left eye and face.

Next to her on the bed, lay a long rectangular case, inside of which was her specialized sword that could use the energy from Dust crystals to aid her in battle.

However, right now Weiss was fighting a battle she could not use her sword in. She had just been locked up by her father, the owner of the Schnee Dust Company Jacques Schnee, for an outburst she had caused at a banquet. She had reacted rashly towards a guest who had been bad mouthing Beacon and the Huntsman that had been there for not doing their job in protecting the place from the attack that had taken place. Weiss had taken great offense and, unable to contain her anger, had summoned a boar with her Semblance. It had been taken out quickly by General Ironwood, commander of Atlas forces, but her actions were still enough to get her grounded.

Now, sitting in bed sadly, Weiss had time to wonder what had happened to her friends. She had been one of the first to leave Team RWBY when her father had forcefully dragged her away from the ruined Beacon and Vale. She had not wanted to leave, but her father gave her no other choice and even her sister, Winter Schnee who she trusted deeply, considered it a good idea. However, it had still weighed heavily on her heart to leave Ruby, her best friend and team leader, without so much as saying goodbye. Sure, the girl had annoyed her with her childish antics and unmannered way of going about things, but she had grown on Weiss deeply. She would give anything to hear Ruby make another lame pun or snore loudly in class.

As Weiss was remembering a time where Ruby had constructed bunk beds for the team to sleep in, a sudden bright light blazed through the windows. Weiss sprang out of bed and ran towards the window, shielding her eyes from the bright light. By the time she had reached the window, the light had faded, and she was able to see clearly outside. She gasped.

In the Schnee Mansions courtyard, a massive circular spaceship had been embedded into the garden. It lay at a cockeye angle, with part of it completely underground and covered in dirt while the other half was out in the open. The design of the ship was nothing Weiss had ever seen before. It had large oval windows all around its circumference. Its top was flat with a hatch that was currently closed. On the bottom, it had small legs that reminded Weiss of a spider. In fact, the entire ship looked like a round fat spider that had no face.

Alarms blared all around as the Schnee Mansion came to life. Guards spilled onto the courtyard, surrounding the ship within seconds. They were shouting orders to each other as they began to survey the ship and the damage its sudden appearance had caused. Still dumbfounded by the turn of events, Weiss tried to piece together exactly what she had witnessed.

"A bright light and then 'BLAM' this thing appears," she said to herself, "But what is it?"

Her curiosity soon overcame her surprise and she bolted to the door and tried to open it. It was locked. She let out a frustrated cry. With everything that had just happened, she had momentarily forgotten that she had been grounded. She ran back to the window and for a crazy moment she considered jumping out. Then behind her, the doors lock clicked, and she turned to see a short plump man wearing a dark blue butler's uniform enter the room.

"Forgive the intrusion, my lady," said Klein Sieben, the Schnee's butler, "However, I would not recommend jumping out the window."

Weiss backed away from the window and replied, "Yes, of course, Klein. But what is that thing?"

Klein walked towards the window and looked down at the crashed ship. "Well, my lady, not much is known so far but we believe it is a spacecraft of some sort. Though it's design is nothing we have seen before in Atlas or in other kingdoms for that matter."

"I figured that much," Weiss huffed, joining Klein at the window, "Anything else?"

"A search team has just entered the ship," Klein said his eyes fixed on the spacecraft, "And so far, they haven't found- "His voice suddenly caught. Weiss noticed and, following his gaze down, she saw what had caught his attention.

A small group of guards were exiting the spacecraft through the top hatch, which had been pried open. The first ones out immediately signaled to some doctors nearby who had come to help out if necessary. As the doctors ran over, the rest of the guards who had been inside climbed out and Weiss saw that they had carried something along with them. A man with spiky black hair and orange martial arts clothing.

* * *

Sailing on the bright blue sea of Remnant, a ferry was cruising towards a small island known as Menagerie. This place was well known for its faunus population, in fact it was the only place in Remnant that only had faunus. It was safe haven for them, especially in these dark times. The faunus have always been the subject of discrimination and abuse by the humans for their animalistic traits.

Now, with the attack on Beacon that had involved the radical faunus group known as the White Fang, the fear and hatred for faunus had only become more potent. All around Remnant, faunus were being once again imprisoned and mistreated for crimes they did not commit and for reasons that were not substantiated.

On the prow of the ferry, a faunus of about eighteen stood looking out at the nearing island on the horizon. Her long black hair flowed behind her in the wind, almost covering the two small cat ears atop her head. A belt was looped over her body and on the back was attached her weapon of choice, a dark black pistol-machete in its black sheath.

The girl had been standing there all morning, gazing at the approaching island. Her face did not convey any emotion, but her eyes betrayed the sadness and guilt she was feeling. The guilt of running away once again from her problems.

"Hey there!" said a voice behind her. She immediately activated her Semblance and literally jumped out of her shadow, leaving a life like clone behind her. As she landed back on the deck, she unsheathed her weapon and pointed it at the speaker.

"Woah no need to do that," said Sun Wukong, a blonde-haired monkey faunus. He was wearing his usual white jacket over his bare chest. A yellow monkey's tail protruded from behind his blue jeans and waggled a little in the wind. Slung over his back was his red staff that doubled as two revolvers.

The cat fanaus relaxed a little and sheathed her weapon and the clone she had left behind dissolved into mist. "Don't do that to me, Sun."

Sun waggled his eyebrows at her and looked out at Menagerie which had grown nearer. "Almost there. I can't wait to meet your family, Blake. The Belladonnas are quite the family." He winked at her. She just sighed, used to his flirtatious attitude.

"I'm here on serious business, Sun. I need to- "

"Save the faunus. Stop the White Fang," Sun finished, "Yes, I know. But you also have to relax a little bit more. Be happy to see your family again."

Blake scowled at him. "It's easy for you to say. You don't continually run away from your problems. You're not a coward."

She let that settle for a second. Then Sun approached her and gripped her shoulders tightly. Blake resisted slightly but Sun didn't let go.

"Stop saying that!" he protested, "You ran away from Beacon due to fear. It's natural! I get that your friends were in trouble and you weren't able to help them. Not many could have!"

Blake wrenched herself free. "But I betrayed their trust! Ruby's. Weiss's. Yang's. All of them! I ran away like always do because that's all I have ever known!"

Once again, she let that settle. Then, to her amazement, Sun laughed. She was about to slap him in the face when he said, "Tell me, does a coward go to their parents to convince the faunus to up rise against a terrorist group?"

Blake stood speechless, trying to think of some sort of counter argument. Sun smiled. "See? You know I'm right."

"Shut up," Blake muttered. Then after a moment she looked at Sun once more. "Thanks, Sun. I needed that."

Sun was taken aback by the sudden change and blushed deeply at her smile. "Well it was nothing. You know I just say what's true and all- "

His speech of modesty was cut short by a sudden bright light that flashed over the sea just a few yards starboard of where they were standing. The two faunus were blinded by the reflection the sea gave off from the light. Then, as soon as it appeared, it dissipated. The two were still seeing spots in their eyes and trying to blink them away when they heard a splash. They looked up just in time to see a ripple of water under where the light had shone. In the middle of the ripple, a body floated lifelessly in the sea.

Sun reacted fast. Clasping his hands together, he used his Semblance and summoned two life size golden avatars of himself. He willed them to jump into the water and swim to the body. They did so without hesitation, grabbed the body, and returned back to the boat with it. They placed the body on the deck and disappeared in a flash.

"Phew," Sun sighed, wiping his brow, "Thank god I can think fast sometimes."

Blake didn't say anything. She kneeled down next to the body and examined the visitor. He was a tall green person dressed in strange garments. His face was devilish, with sharp features and long pointy ears. He wore a turban over his head and long white cape over his shoulders. Over his body and legs, we wore purple martial arts clothes with a belt around his waist and his feet were covered in orange boots. His arms were bare, showing off his green skin and pink blotches where the biceps were. It was by far one of the strangest people Blake and Sun had ever seen in their lives.

"A type of faunus?" Sun asked curiously as he looked at the stranger's face.

Blake didn't respond. Somehow, she figured that this person was no faunus. She also figured that his sudden appearance meant something profound. Whatever the case, she knew one thing for sure. Things were about to get interesting.

* * *

Yang Xiao Long was in a state of absolute depression. Lying in bed and doing menial house chores for the past few months in her house on the isle of Patch had been bad enough. But the sudden departure of her younger sister, news of increased Grimm appearances and the rise of the White Fang had added to her stress.

And instead of relieving it by going out there and helping, she was stuck here, all because of what had happened to her at Beacon a few months ago. She still had nightmares about it. A masked bull faunus with red hair and a black suit slashing his red katana in a wicked slice and suddenly a guttural scream of pain. Though it's not like she needed those nightmares to remind her of what had happened either. All she needed to do was look down at her right arm and see the lack of an arm.

Yang sighed and laid her head back on the pillow, making sure not to mess up her long yellow hair. Even in her depression, most guys would have been staring. She was a bombshell of a girl at eighteen and a body that would impress any. Well fit and toned, her body was built like a boxer.

Sufficient in self-defense, Yang also carries around yellow gauntlets over her fists that come with built in shotguns that she can reload easily and give her punches a major power boost. Power boosts were also part of Yang's Semblance. When angered in any way, here lilac eyes turn red and her aura increases substantially, giving her more power and agility.

Of course, it was quite a cruel joke that what she had lost in the battle was one of her main ways of attacking. Though, to be fair, that problem had been remedied somewhat. Not long after the attack, she had received a gift from General Ironwood in Atlas for her courage and valor in battle. It was a high-tech robotic arm, easily attachable and detachable which was able to pack as much of a punch as her old arm. Though Yang was of course grateful for such a gift, she still felt as if she had lost a part of herself, both literally and metaphorically.

She turned on to her side contemplating. Literally, she had lost an arm. Metaphorically though, she had lost her team and her friends. Her sister had left on a quest without so much as a word to her. Weiss had been plucked away by her family as far as she knew. And Blake… she had run off, leaving them to grieve for the destruction of Beacon without her. It had been the biggest insult for Yang. Trust and loyalty were her two greatest ideals and by running off in a time of need, Blake had broken both to her former team and, more importantly, friends.

"Why did you have to run?" Yang asked out loud, "We were your friends… we should have stuck together."

She did not cry easily. Laughing, joking, teasing and flirting came more naturally. But as she lay helplessly in her bed, she sobbed quietly in despair. She was so wrapped up in her despair that did not notice the increase in light outside her window. She did not notice it fade away quickly. But she did notice the unconscious body fall through her roof and land hard on her bedroom floor.

She yelped as she sprang up from her lying position, dodging wood planks and other shrapnel coming down from the roof. Downstairs, she heard the front door slam and, a moment later, footsteps running up the stairs. Her father barged into the room panting and subsequently got hit in the head by plank of falling wood.

"Dad!" Yang screeched, grabbing her blanket and covering her bottom half which had been naked except for some underwear.

"Sorry honey!" Taiyang Xiao Long called out rubbing his blonde hair to shake out some of the wood pieces and dust that had fallen on him. Despite being hit over the head with a plank, he looked completely fine thanks to his aura which had protected him. Like Yang, he had been a Huntsman, though now he did not do much in the business anymore and instead tended the house and took care of the garden. Judging by his clothes, he had been potting the plants before running over. He wore his usual beige shirt, vest and pants but also wore rubber boots and leather gloves which were both covered in dirt.

Once the dust had settled and Yang and Tai made sure that there was no more danger from falling wood planks, they began to examine the source of the damage, though Yang quickly went to her dresser and slipped into some khaki pants.

"I will tell you this," Tai said nervously, "This person is definitely some type of fighter and a strong one at that."

Yang approached his side and kneeled down next him to look at the body. She had to agree with him. A man with long spiky black hair, a mean face and strange battle armor lay before her. His arms and legs were muscled enough to be seen through his blue spandex.

"Where the hell did he come from?" Yang wondered as she looked him up and down.

"I don't know," Tai said, "Do you keep strange men in our attic, Yang?" He turned to her and despite a small twinkle in his eye, he wasn't entirely joking.

"Shut up dad," Yang slapped him upside the head.

"Ow," he complained, "Be careful. Your too strong to be doing slaps like those. But anyway, I did see this bright light above our house before he fell through. I don't know what it was exactly so I'm still mostly in the dark but that's at least what I observed. I'm going to get some water and towels. Stay by him."

Yang stared at the man's face. It wasn't the kindest face to look at, but she recognized it as the face of warrior.

"A warrior that crashed through our roof and into my bedroom," Yang thought as Tai went downstairs to grab some water and towels, "What type of omen could that be?"

* * *

On a small lonely path in the kingdom of Mistral, a young farm boy of fourteen walked with a small backpack over his back.

He was not much to look at. With tousled black hair, freckles on his face, orange suspenders over a plain white t-shirt that held up his brown pants, he looked like every other farm boy. However, Oscar Pine's purpose was far more dangerous and, in his opinion, stupid than any other farm boy.

A few months ago, he had been busy working at his mother's farm as always when a voice had begun to speak to him inside of his head. At first, he thought he was just hearing things, but the voice urged him to listen and made itself clear that it was not just his subconscious or imagination. It had proclaimed itself as Ozpin, a former principle at a Huntsman Academy in Vale known as Beacon and that hard times had fallen upon him and forced him to enter Oscar's body. Oscar, who had little to do with Huntsman and Vale, was startled by the sudden news and terrified. What Ozpin had told him next terrified him even more. He instructed Oscar to leave his farm, possibly forever, and take an express train to the city of Mistral where Mistral Academy was located and meet up with somebody that Oscar didn't know.

At first, Oscar resisted strongly and tried to shut out the voice. However, he finally gave in and now found himself walking down the path towards the nearest train station that would take him to Mistral.

"You're doing quite well, Oscar," the now familiar calm voice of Ozpin said in Oscar's head, "We should arrive within a few days at this rate."

Oscar sighed. "I suppose that's a good thing. But what about if something attacks me? I don't have anything to protect myself from a wild Grimm appearing."

"We have discussed this," Ozpin's voice chided him, "If that comes to pass, I will be able to imbue some my power into you. It will be more than enough to take out any Grimm that wishes to stand in our way."

"I hope so," Oscar muttered bitterly. Though he had reluctantly agreed to carry out the orders of Ozpin, he was still quite worried about this "power" that Ozpin spoke of and if it really would protect him.

Just as he was about to ask once more what this power did, to which Ozpin always gave a very vague response, a light shone beside the path at the tree line. Oscar turned away quickly so as not to be blinded, panicking about what would happen to him.

"Calm down," Ozpin said as calmly as ever, "You can look now. The light has faded and- "

The voice faltered, and Oscar got another pang of fear. He had never heard Ozpin's voice stop in such a way and anything that could do that was not something Oscar wanted to deal with. But he also knew that if he was going to complete this journey, he needed to find some courage. With that in mind, he took a deep breath and turned to look.

As Ozpin had said, the light had now faded completely. Under where it had shone, a woman in her late twenties lay still on the ground. Despite his fear, Oscar rushed to her side to check on her. He noticed that she was still breathing, which relieved him greatly, and then decided to figure out who she was. She was pretty woman with blue hair done in a simple hair cut with bangs on each side of her face and a red band over her forehead. She wore a yellow jacket and shirt over a black long-sleeved shirt and pants which were tucked in under orange boots.

Oscar had absolutely no idea who this person was and where she had come from, apart from the light, and didn't know what he could do with her. He did not own a scroll, a device like a phone used for many useful applications, so he could not call anybody. All he had was his backpack with basic supplies and talking voice in his head.

"Ozpin," Oscar called inside of his head, "What should I do?"

For once, there was no response. Ozpin had gotten suddenly very quiet. Oscar was beginning to get nervous and was about to ask again when Ozpin spoke. "I feel a strange energy has fallen upon our world. Something is happening."

Oscar's mouth felt as dry as a desert. "What do you mean?"

Ozpin paused before replying, "I feel the presence of something terrible out there. Something much worse than our current enemy." He paused once more and then said, "Our journey has just gotten a lot harder."

* * *

In the kingdom of Vale, the city of Vale was quiet. Craters peppered the city and entire neighborhoods had been burnt down. The streets were mostly empty except for Huntsman and workers trying to rebuild what they could. At the head of the city, Beacon Huntsman Academy stood, a shell of its former self. The courtyards were burnt, the cafeteria and gym destroyed, and the dorm rooms deserted. At the center, the main tower still stood tall but blackened and damaged. At the peak, a stone dragon was frozen in mid roar. Floating a few meters above the stone dragon, a small figure surveyed the land.

"This is definitely not Planet Namek," Lord Frieza said coldly, "if I had to guess, I seem to be on an entirely new world. Of course that light that came from the stones next to those brats was responsible for this. I would also have to guess that they were transported here as well."

He clenched his fists, fury rising. Then his eyes locked on a gathering of people thousands of feet below in the Vale City square. He raised his hand and clicked a button on the device over his ear. It made a few beeping noises and on the red screen over his eye, information popped up.

"Hmm... a population of some sort. Mostly the power levels seem to be of insignificant size," he then narrowed his eyes as more information popped up, "Oh, there seem to be a select few with higher power levels. Nothing compared to Vegeta's or any of the other brats but compared to the peasants they are slightly stronger."

Frieza pressed the button on the device once more and it shut off. He closed his eyes and gathered his thoughts. He was still absolutely livid, but he needed to figure out where he was. He knew that Vegeta and the cretins with him were probably somewhere on this world, hiding their power levels so he could not locate them with his scouter. The thought only made him angrier, but he tried once again to calm himself down.

"An almighty tyrant cannot be swayed by such things," he told himself. This was the wrong thing to say. Immediately it reminded him of his failed pursuit for immortality, the trick set up by the Namekians and the boasts of Vegeta.

He opened his eyes once more. He stared down at the city of Vale. Slowly, he raised his hand and pointed his index finger directly up. A small ball of orange energy the size of a baseball appeared several centimeters above the point of the finger. Then he smiled. A cruel, murderous smile that perfectly complimented his icy cold eyes.

"I did promise you I would refresh your memory of who I was, Vegeta," he spoke quietly, "Maybe this will remind you."

He flicked his finger downward towards Vale. As the ball of orange energy flew down, Frieza's heartless laugh cut through the silent air. The energy ball flew towards the crowd gathered in the town square. None of the people noticed it hit the ground and even if they did, there was nothing they could have done to prevent what would happen. When the energy ball came in contact with the pavement, large cracks spread throughout the square. People began running frantically as the cracks grew larger and the earth shook violently. Fire burst from the ground, burning houses and destroying the streets. At the center of it all, the orange energy ball slowly dug further into the pavement. A few seconds later, it was completely under. The entire city of Vale and Beacon Academy along with it suddenly burst into a dome of bright orange energy and fire, growing larger as it destroyed.

Up above, Frieza continued to laugh as he watched the entire area be leveled. Sparks of energy from the explosions flew by him and he put his hands out in front of as if he was warming himself by a fire.

"Wow! This is stupendous!" He cried gleefully, "What a great show!" He roared with laughter as he continued to watch his attack slaughter the thousands of innocent lives that had lived in the city below.

A few more seconds past and the blast finally began to die down until it was completely gone, leaving an enormous empty crate where both the city of Vale and Beacon Academy had once stood. Frieza floated down to the ground and stood in the middle of the crater, a grin of pure evil on his face. As he stood upon one of the oldest and greatest cities of Remnant, he spoke out loud.

"If any of you brats are out there right now, hoping that you had escaped my wrath, you are sorely mistaken. I will hunt you down and murder every single one of you."

As he finished, he once more broke into evil laughter and flew off, leaving the city of Vale and Beacon behind. At that moment, all around Remnant the victims of his wrath stirred and suddenly awoke.

 **Little time has passed and already the tyrannical Lord Frieza has made his mark on the new world of Remnant. Our heroes have landed all over Remnant and are now in the care of strangers. Will they be able to get along and take on the threats that endanger the lives of many on Remnant? The stage is set for meetings of a lifetime on the next episode of Dragon Ball R!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to another chapter of Dragon Ball R. Before we begin, I would like to thank everyone that reviewed my story and gave me advice on it. I truly appreciate them and will try my hardest to use these to improve my writing and as a result give you guys a better reading experience. That's all for now, if there are any comments, suggestions or criticism you would like to say, please write a review. Anyway, on to the story.**

 **Last time on Dragon Ball R, The Z-Warriors were sent to an unknown world known as Remnant via a strange light. However, along with them they brought along the tyrannical Lord Frieza who has already destroyed the recovering city of Vale and Beacon Huntsman Academy. Now, the heroes are in the care of the split up members of Team RWBY and must find a solution to their problem as fast as they can! Today: Heroes and Villains Collide?! Salem's New Obstacle!**

* * *

"AAGG!" Gohan sat bolt upright. He felt groggy and confused, but he was sure he had just felt a powerful surge of energy which had snapped him out of his stupor.

He looked around to get his bearings. Next to, Krillin had also risen just as suddenly, turning his head in every direction to try and figure out where he was. Besides him, Dende had gotten up more slowly, though he too became just as panicked once he saw his surroundings.

Gohan couldn't blame them. He was just as confused and panicked as they were. The place they were sitting in looked nothing like Namek. They sat in the middle of a small beaten path, with wooden railings on either side that separated the path from the tree line. The trees bent over the path, their orange leaves beginning to scatter onto the path as autumn neared its end. Their branches waved cheerfully as a light breeze blew by, so it looked like they were saying hello to the newcomers. The sky seemed to be less friendly, with a cloud cover that hung over them like a grey sheet.

"Well," Krillin said after a few minutes of looking around, "Normal trees? Normal looking sky? Yep. We are definitely not on Namek anymore."

"What do you mean by 'normal'?" Dende asked, his voice quaking with suppressed fear, "This place looks completely alien!"

Krillin was about to embark on a long speech about the landscape of Earth, when Gohan noticed something else and cut him off. "Look!"

He pointed across the path from where they were sitting. Krillin and Dende looked to where he was pointing and saw Team RNJR backed up against the wooden railing. They looked terrified, with their eyes fixed on the newcomers. The two groups remained silent for a moment, not sure how to begin. Then Gohan spoke.

"Umm… hello?" Gohan said tentatively, raising a small hand in greeting.

"Uhh… hi there," Ruby responded, just as tentatively while also raising her hand in a similar greeting.

They stood silent once more. An awkward meeting to say the very least. Finally, Jaune couldn't hold it any longer and asked the burning question on everyone's mind.

"Who are you guys? And what was that light?"

"Woah buddy," Krillin suddenly jumped up, alert, "We can't just tell you that! How do we know that you're not some type of evil creature that wants to eat our faces?"

Next to him, Dende nodded vigorously in agreement. Gohan just groaned. On the other side, Jaune looked so affronted that he couldn't respond. Nora took up the reins.

"And how are WE sure that YOU aren't the monsters that will rip OUR faces off?" she countered aggressively, "Besides, were do you get off saying that? You guys look as human as us, well apart from the little green guy."

She nodded toward Dende who was now hiding behind Krillin, though he wasn't much shorter than him. Krillin looked serious now and Gohan could see he was ready to start an argument with these strangers. He hadn't known Krillin to be so aggressive but with everything that just happened, he couldn't fully blame him. Still, he needed to put a stop to this before a fight broke out.

"We promise not to rip your faces off if you don't rip ours," he said calmly, standing up from his position. Then he walked forward a few steps and stuck out his hand. "My name is Son Gohan. A pleasure to meet you."

Team RNJR exchanged nervous looks. Then, from behind Nora, Ren stepped out and shook Gohan's hand. A firm, but friendly handshake that garnered no ill will from either side.

"Lie Ren. I apologize for the cold reception. We were just surprised by your sudden appearance and weren't quite sure how to react."

"I can understand that," Gohan replied, smiling, "We are quite baffled ourselves. This definitely not the world we were in before." He released Ren's hand and gestured behind him. "This is my friend, and I guess chaperone, Krillin. And next him is our new Namekian friend Dende."

Krillin and Dende, who still looked quite nervous about the situation, nodded and stepped forward. Behind Ren, Ruby now stepped forward and offered her hand to Gohan, smiling.

"My name is Ruby Rose," she said sweetly and shaking his hand very gently, but deliberately. Gohan realized what she was doing quickly and chuckled awkwardly. Ren realized as well.

"Ruby. I don't think this the type of kid you need to act dumb and sweet to. He is much smarter than any kid his age."

Ruby looked annoyed and puffed her cheeks out. "Well how was I supposed to know that, Ren? I just met the little guy!"

"Does a kid his age usually know how to mediate an argument and introduce himself like an adult?" Ren asked calmly. Ruby, having nothing to counter with, huffed indignantly. Meanwhile, Jaune and Nora approached Krillin and Dende.

"Hey sorry we got off on the wrong foot," Jaune said politely, "The name is Jaune Arc."

"AND I'M NORA!" Nora yelled loudly, and Jaune covered his ears. Dende stumbled back a bit with the loud introduction, his fear returning. But Krillin didn't seem to mind. In fact, he snapped his legs and arms together and bowed before Jaune and Nora in a formal bow.

"My name is Krillin. I would like to also apologize for the comment about... ripping faces off." He looked embarrassed to be doing such a formal greeting. In truth, he had been so nervous when Gohan had introduced their group so calmly to the strangers that when they had come up to him, he had panicked and done something completely out of character.

"No need to be so formal," Jaune said. Next to him, Nora rushed over to Dende and began examining him thoroughly, popping around him as if she was teleporting.

"Who are you? What are you? Are you naturally green? Are you aliens? Are you actually going to eat us-"

"NORA!" the rest of Team RNJR yelled, stopping her. She giggled a little and patted Dende on the head. "Just kidding! Nice to meetcha!" She then skipped back to Ren, still smiling at the group.

Now that introductions had been complete, each group seemed to examine each other more closely, noting the others appearance and clothing. It hadn't quite struck either group just how different they were, and it brought up many questions. Ruby was the first to pose one.

"So, Gohan mentioned something about a different world? Was that just a metaphor or-,"

Suddenly, thunder boomed above. The grey clouds before had become a much darker shade and flashed with lightning. The smell of oncoming rain reached the groups noses.

"Let's talk somewhere else," Jaune said, pointing down the road, "We were just resting at a town down that way a short way. We can take shelter there and talk."

Everyone agreed and together, they ran down the road. Team RNJR took the lead with Gohan, Krillin and Dende following.

As they ran, Gohan whispered to Krillin, "Hey, did you feel a powerful surge of energy when you woke up?"

Krillin's face became grave. "Yeah. It's what woke me up. I can't bear to think what he did."

Gohan nodded. "For now, we need to just focus on our new group of friends. If we want to gain their trust, we are going to have to answer a lot of questions."

Dende then spoke up behind them, "I am truly sorry for them."

Gohan and Krillin turned back to look at him. "What do you mean?"

Dende looked into their eyes and they saw the pain of grief in them. "I'm sorry for what we have brought with us to their world."

* * *

"How is he?" Weiss asked Klein as she sipped her tea.

They were drinking tea in her room. As she was still not allowed to leave, Klein would bring her food and drinks on a tray at meal times. Today, Weiss had asked him to sit with her to talk about the strange man that had been brought aboard a few hours before from the mysterious spacecraft. While he had orders not to say anything, Klein had agreed anyway. He truly loved the Schnee heiress. Besides, the rest of the Schnee family had left for a party across town, leaving him in charge.

"Well," he began adding some sugar to his tea, "we still don't know too much about him. He was floating in a sort of liquid chamber with all kinds of wires hooked up to him. The chamber was cracked though from the crash, so the liquid was pouring out and the guards decided to free him." He paused to take a sip of tea. "We took him in for examination to find out who he was. We still have absolutely no idea except for maybe that he is some sort of martial artist. In fact, we can't find any records of him anywhere in the archives."

Weiss choked on her tea. As Klein handed her a napkin, she spluttered, "How?! Those archives have the data on every single person in Remnant."

She had never really approved of the massive archive her family kept about the people of Remnant. She felt it was an obvious breach of privacy, though her father maintained that it was necessary for business.

"We really don't know. Along with this, the ship that he was in has also not been found in the archives. To make sure, General Ironwood actually made some calls to the other kingdom leaders to ask if their inventors were building things in secret. They all denied it and said they had never seen a ship such as the one described."

Weiss, who had recovered herself from her choking fit, sighed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. If the man wasn't in the archives, why would the ship be." Then a strange thought came to her. "Wait, maybe the man is not really a man. Maybe he is a synthetic robot, like the ones the Atlesian Knights, but made to look exactly like a human."

Klein chuckled softly. "Quite the idea, my lady! But we do know that he is human. Or at least a living being."

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that, Klein?"

Klein took a sip of tea, pondering how he should answer. Honestly, he didn't know if he understood himself. The whole ordeal was quite strange.

"You see," he began, "though he is definitely a living being, he seems to possess a very high level of energy."

"Aura?" Weiss asked curiously, sitting up. Klein shook his head.

"That's just the thing see. It isn't aura. In fact, he doesn't have any aura as far as we can tell by our scanners. However, he definitely has a very powerful life energy. Not to mention his physical strength is nothing to joke at."

Weiss's eyes widened. "Wait, what? Did we wake up and fight?"

"No, no," Klein soothed gently, "He is still fast asleep actually. But when we tried to strap him in our medical bay for examination, his arms somehow broke about five leather straps. We then tried to use the mechanical clasps that we usually use to hold down prisoners, but they too just broke at the slightest movement. We were forced to use our specialized Dust bindings to strap him down."

It was then Klein realized that instead of actually soothing the heiress, he had made her much more afraid. She had stared wide-eyed as he had described what had happened and her face was slack with terror. He cursed himself for his foolishness.

"Forgive me, my lady," he said politely, "I didn't mean to frighten you so much. I will just let you enjoy your tea in peace now."

"Wait!" Weiss cried, snapping out of her daze and grabbing his arm, "No it's fine. I was just shocked. Don't go, I want to hear more."

Klein looked at her skeptically, but Weiss gave him a pleading look and he relented.

"Alright, though there isn't much more to tell. The only other thing we gathered from our examination is that he was severely injured. Wounds all over his body and many broken bones and limbs. It was actually quite surprising since he seemed to be radiating so much power, but there you have it."

"Do we have any idea what had caused the injuries?" Weiss asked, "Grimm attack maybe?"

Klein laughed. "Come, my lady. This man has proven to be as strong as many Huntsmen while injured and unconscious. Do you really think any Grimm could actually harm him? No, we believe, though of course we are not sure, that he was in some sort of fight and afterward he went into the healing chamber to rest up."

"Healing chamber?"

Klein waved away the question, "Yes the liquid chamber we found him. A few mechanics went inside to inspect it and found life support machines and other medical equipment connected to the machine. However, here is the kicker." With this he leaned in closely, Weiss mimicking to catch every word. "We believe this because just an hour ago, he began saying a name. A name that seemed to cause him great discomfort judging by the faces he began making. He actually broke one of the Dust bindings at one point."

Weiss, who had earlier been terrified by the thought of this man breaking leather and mechanical restraints, completely bypassed the last remark. Instead, she asked, "What was the name?"

"Frieza."

A cold silence swept the room. Weiss shivered, even though the room was quite warm, and the windows were shut. The tea she had just drank tasted like acid and she gulped down hard.

"I have never heard of that name," Weiss eventually said, putting her teacup down.

"Neither have we," Klein said, "But we may actually have a clue about who he is."

"What?" Weiss looked at him in awe. "For someone who says we don't know much, you're certainly giving me a lot of information."

Klein didn't respond. His face had become very somber and he to put down his teacup. Weiss looked into his eyes and suddenly saw great sadness within. The look suddenly made her afraid to ask, but she did so anyway. "What happened?"

"The city of Vale and Beacon Academy have been completely destroyed."

Weiss suddenly couldn't feel her body. She slumped down in her chair limp as a ragdoll, her chin resting on her chest as her head hung low. Klein sprang up and rushed to her side.

"My lady!" he cried, gripping her shoulders tightly, "Are you alright? Please speak to me!"

Weiss didn't say anything. For a while, she just sat in mute disbelief while Klein pleaded. Then, after what seemed like ages, she hoarsely asked, "How?"

"Look, my lady," Klein stammered, "I think we should table these discussions for- "

"HOW DID IT HAPPEN!?" Weiss screamed, looking up at Klein with tears streaming down her face.

Klein froze, unwilling to respond but unable to see Weiss cry. He sighed heavily and crouched down beside her, taking her hand softly.

"All we know from witnesses is that in less than a full minute, the area was completely leveled by a massive explosion of bright orange energy with a power that no bomb we have could reproduce. It's all over the news, and details are still vague, but some experts believe that this was a powerful aura attack of some kind due to the energy the blast had."

Weiss stayed silent, listening to Klein. Then she asked quietly, "But what does this have to with the man and the name 'Frieza'?"

Before Klein could respond, the door to the room suddenly burst open. The two looked up to see a doctor in a white lab coat panting heavily.

"I am sorry to barge in like this, my lady," he said between gasps, "but the man… he has awoken."

* * *

"For the last time, I'm a Namekian, not a faunus!"

Piccolo slammed his fist on the railing of the ferry, slicing it in half.

It had been a strange past few minutes. He had woken up in an unknown place just after being revived from the dead. He had barely spent a minute on his homeworld, when he had suddenly lost consciousness from a blinding light. Now he was on a ferry boat, confronted by to two people, a girl with cat ears and a boy with a monkey's tail which had been an immediate red flag for Piccolo. They had both been startled with his sudden return to consciousness and while the girl had mostly remained silent, the boy had begun incessantly asking questions about him before he had a chance to gather himself. One question that seemed to keep coming back was that if Piccolo was something called a "faunus", which he had now answered for the third time.

Now he turned to Sun, who had backed away instinctively, and angrily posed a question of his own. "Are you a Saiyan?"

It was Sun's turn to get angry. He balled his fists, resisting the urge to fly at Piccolo.

"What's that? A derogatory term for a faunus?" he growled, "I can't believe that the thanks I get for saving your butt is yelling and insults!"

Piccolo scoffed. "Saved me? Give me a break! I didn't need your help. Besides, you were the one that began asking me stupid questions about faunus right after I woke up."

Sun began to storm over to Piccolo, reaching behind him for his staff. "Do you want to fight buddy? Cause at this point, I am ready to-"

"QUIET!"

Blake stepped between the two with her weapon drawn, pointing the sheath at Sun and the machete at Piccolo. They both looked at her, Sun startled by the sudden interference and Piccolo indifferent.

"Blake, what are you doing?" Sun hissed at her, "This guys is insulting faunus's and acting like a total ass in general and-"

He was silenced as Blake gave him a withering look. "Listen to me Sun," she hissed back, "First off, you did just start asking him questions when he woke up. Second, he gave you an answer and you still persisted. Third, you haven't asked for his name or who he is, and you have already pulled your weapon out. Do you know what type faunus do that? The White Fang."

Her last words cut through him hard. He lowered his staff, his anger turning to guilt. Piccolo just grunted and turned away.

"That doesn't mean I'm done with you by the way," Blake said behind his back, "You still have yet to tell us who you are and where you came from."

Piccolo didn't turn around, but he replied, "You never asked me who I was thanks to your loud friend. And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you because it's none of your business."

Blake closed her eyes, composing herself. She was beginning to blame Sun less for his outburst. This guy's rude attitude really made it hard to talk casually.

"Look," she said trying again, "You appeared out of absolutely nowhere in a flash of light. You can't honestly expect us to just ignore that, can you?"

"It would be nice if you did," Piccolo replied coldly, "I have enough on my mind as it is without dealing with talkative teenagers. Now leave me be!" He barked the last command.

Sun tried to step up and say something, but Blake took his arm and began leading him away. Piccolo still didn't turn around, but he listened to their receding footsteps on the wooden deck. Once they had dissipated completely, he returned his attention to his thoughts and objectives.

He needed to know where he was, but more importantly, he needed to know if anyone else had come with him to this world. He concentrated and searched out with his Ki energy searching. Within seconds he locked on to two familiar Ki signatures a way away. _Gohan and Krillin._

He breathed a small sigh of relief. At least Gohan was okay. He had been worried for the boy's safety the whole time he had been on King Kai's planet, listening to King Kai recite the events of their encounter with Zarbon and the Ginyu Force. He remembered that when he told Gohan to bring him back to life so he could avenge his people, King Kai had scolded him for being rash and foolish. However, Piccolo hadn't told him or Gohan that the other reason, maybe even the main reason, he wanted to come back was to be able to protect the boy.

"Hmmph, I'm growing soft," Piccolo said to himself quietly, but a smile still played on his lips.

He then got back to his objective. He began searching for familiar Ki once more and within a few seconds was able to find Vegeta's. _Great, he's here._ _I could have done without him._ Though Piccolo had trained well under King Kai, he still would have a tough time going up against the Prince if it did come to that.

He moved away and searched again. This time, it took a few minutes and he had been about to conclude that Gohan, Krillin and Vegeta were the only familiar faces here, when he felt a faint but noticeable signal. He focused on it and then snorted at his own foolishness. _Of course, he's here to._ Son Goku's energy was faint but true and was easily the farthest away then the others.

Piccolo relaxed. He did not have the same affection for Goku that he did for his son, but he had great respect for his strength and knew that as long as Goku was here, things would become more hopeful.

Finished with his search, Piccolo began to formulate a plan, consisting of him flying over to Gohan, when he suddenly noticed another Ki. A massive, powerful and evil Ki, full of bloodlust and intent on bloodshed.

Piccolo staggered, unable to comprehend what he was sensing. He knew who it was and was surprised that he had somehow overlooked it while searching as Frieza's energy was far beyond anything in his wildest imagination. He suddenly felt incredibly foolish for thinking he could avenge his kin by killing Frieza. Compared to him, he was but an insect.

He gulped. He closed off his mind from the energy and tried to gather himself. Flying to Gohan was not an option anymore. Flying at all wasn't an option. He knew that Frieza was wearing a scouter, the device that could sense power levels, and if used his Ki for anything, Frieza could find him and destroy him. Unfortunately, that did not leave many options. Piccolo sighed and breathed deeply, preparing for one of his biggest weaknesses. Socializing.

At the bow of the ferry, Blake and Sun stood silently. They both wore faces of anger and annoyance, still miffed about the exchange with Piccolo. Every few minutes, Sun would try to raise the mood, but his attempts fell flat and every time he just lapsed back into angry silence. In Blake's case, she was too caught up in her feelings to try and raise the mood. She was convinced she had done the right thing. But she had been turned away and shunned. And in the end, she had walked away once more. Just like how she had walked away from her team.

A voice cleared its throat behind them and they turned sharply. Piccolo stood there awkwardly, not smiling. Sun straightened, scowling.

"What do you want?"

Piccolo, forcing done a retort, calmly recited the words he had practiced before coming over. "Hello, my name is Piccolo. I am a Namekian from the planet Namek. I have come to ask for your help."

* * *

In a dark land, away from all the kingdoms of Remnant, a dark palace stood, black and foreboding. Around it, pools of dark liquid oozed and bubbled, bursting to hatch black nightmare creatures.

Inside, the halls were tall and arching, like the inside of a church but black and with no murals on the walls. They all lead to a large conference room that overlooked the dark countryside around it. There, a pale white woman in dark robes sat at the head of a long table, seemingly waiting for something. Floating nearby, a creature with an orb for a head and tentacles showed a vision of a figure flying over a forest.

The doors to the room opened and the image in the orb went dark as four men and two women entered and took their seats around the table. At the head of the table, the woman straightened up and everyone looked at her intently.

"Thank you for joining me at this emergency meeting," the immortal witch Salem said, looking around at each face, "I understand that we had a meeting not too long ago about our plans for the maidens and the girl with silver eyes, but something has arisen."

Everybody fidgeted uncomfortably. "Something has arisen" was not something good to hear from Salem.

Finally, a tall muscled man spoke up. "We are here to serve, my lady. If you need us, we will always return. Besides, I have made sure to send a message to Adam explaining the situation. He has made sure to move the meeting with Leader Sienna Khan and is still working on the preparations to overthrow her."

Salem nodded shortly. "Good, Hazel. Very good," she then turned to a man in a suit and a handlebar mustache, "I assume you did the same with Lionheart, Watts?"

The man smiled smugly. "Of course, my lady. I would never overlook such a simple matter."

Next to him, a faunus with crazy eyes and a scorpion tail asked breathlessly, "What does our queen have to say to us?" He looked at Salem, giggling hysterically.

"I bet it is something to do with Cinder," Watts snickered, glancing at a woman with red hair sitting across from him. The woman growled and tried to reply but could only muster a hoarse croak causing Watts to chortle. "I see your voice hasn't improved yet. Do you need your little lackeys to speak for you?" He eyed the young grey clad boy and green clad girl sitting on either side of Cinder.

The two started upward in defense for their master but Salem raised her hand. "Enough. Mercury and Emerald. Sit down."

They obeyed immediately, not daring to defy her. Salem then glanced sternly at Watts. "And please, dispense with your childish taunts. They are not productive to our goal."

Watts bowed his head saying, "Forgive me, my lady. I shall do as you ask."

Salem nodded and then turned back to the table at large. "Now that we have settled in, let us get down to business. I have summoned you because of an event that has just occurred that could jeopardize our purpose."

The room was silent. The others stared at Salem, trying to digest what she had said. It was hard for them to believe that something would have the ability to jeopardize Salem's plan, let alone get in her way.

"May I ask what you mean, my lady?" Watts asked, careful to keep his tone level and polite.

"The city of Vale and Beacon Academy have both been destroyed," Salem replied, her voice taking on a hard edge that caused the company to flinch, "by a newcomer."

As she said the word "newcomer" she scowled deeply. She looked around to gauge the reaction of her servants and was infuriated to see them suddenly much less interested.

"So, a guy blows up a city and academy with some bombs and a small army," Mercury said examining his fingernails, "So what? That happens. Not to mention, we softened the place up for him after what we did. Why do you care anyway about-"

Next to him, Cinder elbowed him sharply to be quiet. Everyone else looked at Salem, fearful of her reaction. She had closed her eyes, controlling her breathing.

"How dare you speak that way to our queen!" Tyrian screeched angrily, jumping up and pulling out his double headed axe-guns, "I will decapitate you for your insolence!"

"That's enough, Tyrian," snapped Salem, her eyes glowing red. Tyrian recoiled and nodded vigorously while sitting back down.

"As for you," Salem turned her red eyes on Mercury, "One more outburst such as that and I will kill you painfully. You are no more than a lackey of Cinder anyway. So, keep your mouth shut and learn your place."

Mercury shrunk back in his seat, losing all his former bravado. The others all turned their attention back to Salem who began to calm down, the glow in her eyes fading.

"Vale and Beacon have both been destroyed by a single individual. He had no bombs, no men and not even a weapon of any kind. He seemed to use a type of aura attack that had enough explosive power to level the area."

She paused, waiting for any contradiction. None came.

"As you can tell, this kind of power is quite unprecedented in Remnant," she continued, "Even I haven't seen such display of power since…," she paused once more, and another flash of anger came into her eyes, "since the gods were around."

All around the table, expressions of shock stared at her. They had only heard stories of the gods from Salem, who seldom like to talk about them, and were unable to wrap their minds around such a power.

"But my queen," Tyrian said tentatively, "He is no match for you. You are the supreme being of this world!"

Salem did not reply. Instead, she said, "My first concern was about the fate of the Relic of Choice. As we all know, it is hidden in a deep underground cavern in Beacon, though we were unable to retrieve as we did not have the proper Maiden to open the seal. However, I am pleased to say that you have been speared that grief." She gestured to the Grimm floating next to her. "I sent the other Seer to examine the crater caused by the explosion and it was able to find a buried-up hole leading down into the ground just under where Beacon used to lay. Of course, it has been clogged with rubble, but the Relic is safe down there."

Hazel raised his hand. Salem nodded, and he said, "Forgive the interruption, my lady, but don't you plan on destroying the Relics anyway?"

Salem smiled, a cruel smile that cared little for the lives of others. "You are correct, Hazel. But I want to take the Relics myself and make sure to snuff out any hope that humanity has of recovery. It would feel so incomplete if I had claimed my victory but was unable to do it without destroying all the Relics myself."

She paused, silently thinking about the day she would wreak havoc across Remnant. Then she returned to reality and her smile dissolved.

"So, with that taken care of, we must now discuss our plans in regard to the newcomer. He is the real jeopardizing factor I was alluding to earlier. We do not know his motives or his affiliation. If decides to oppose us…," she didn't need to finish. Everyone understood.

"I feel that the course of action is actually quite clear, my lady," Watts piped up, twirling his mustache, "This person, whoever he may be, seems to have a passion for carnage and destruction. Definitely no regard for human life. He seems to me like a great addition to our cause."

Around the table, his comrades looked appalled. Cinder tried to say something, but Hazel talked over her hoarse croak. "You can't control somebody like that, Arthur. It's foolishness. Powerful allies are useful but only when you're sure you can keep them in line. Somebody who blows up an entire landmark off the face of the planet without warning is not someone who we can keep in line."

The others voiced their agreement, Salem watching the exchange quietly. Watts raised a hand for quiet before stating, "I see your point of view, Hazel. I do. But unlike you, I know a great deal about manipulating someone's thoughts. And some of the easiest people to manipulate are people who are already somewhat in agreement with you, even if not directly," he turned to Salem, "I propose that we find this individual and convince him to join us. I can be the envoy if you would like."

They all watched Salem consider his proposal. Then she flicked her hand to the side. The Seer floating next to her approached her. She concentrated for a second and the Seer's orb rippled, revealing the vision it had been showing before. The servants of evil stared in awe as they watched Lord Frieza fly over the forest, a blue energy surrounding him.

"Is that… him?" Watts asked, suddenly looking less confident. Salem nodded and willed the vision to zoom in on Frieza.

"He looks like a person that murders babies for a living," Tyrian said, cackling a little at the thought, "How are you getting this vision my queen?"

"After I sent my Seer to inspect the damage at Beacon," Salem explained, "I willed it to search around for the culprit. I was lucky enough to just catch him flying away and quickly gave chase while making sure to keep a safe distance away. So far, he has been flying for about 2 hours non-stop."

"Such powerful aura," Cinder croaked, surprising everyone at the table. She was staring so intently at Frieza that it looked like she was trying to see past him. Her eyes were completely mesmerized.

"Indeed," Watts concurred, not teasing Cinder for once, "Though I believe that it isn't aura he is using. Don't quote me on that though, it's just speculation. I obviously have not had time to examine him or his powers closely."

Suddenly, Hazel pointed at the vision. "Look, he's slowing down."

They all looked to see that he was indeed right. Frieza's energy trail had become smaller and he seemed to also be descending slowly. Salem concentrated on the Seer, ready to give a command if his course changed. All eyes were on him, watching his every move.

Then, in midair, Frieza abruptly stopped flying. He floated there as if he was standing on air. Then he slowly began descending down towards the ground. Salem quickly willed the Seer following him to descend with him. Below the tree canopy, they saw he had landed in a small clearing. He wasn't doing anything.

"What's going on," whispered Tyrian, despite there being no need to. No one answered and kept their eyes fixed on the orb.

Frieza raised his hand to the scouter on his ear and pressed a button. The eavesdroppers heard a faint beeping noise of technology. Frieza pressed it once more and it ceased. Then he turned and looked directly at them.

For a split-second, no one dared to breath. Then, before any of them could cry out, Frieza had launched himself toward them until he was right up close to the Seer, smiling his signature coy diplomatic smile that always seemed to be full of malice while his eyes conveyed the undeniable intentions of evil he was dying to inflict.

It had been so quick, that no one had time to even register that he had actually moved. To them, he had teleported right in front of them. Mercury and Emerald had leapt out of their seats in alarm. Hazel had also risen, grabbing his chair as if he was about to wield it. Watts had actually tried to back out of his chair while still sitting and as a result had fallen backward. Tyrian had yelped and leaped up to the roof of the room and now held on to one of the arches. Cinder, much to the contrary of her comrades, had gotten up and approached closer to the orb, settling next to Salem's side who had not moved at all. She just stared into the cold red eyes of Frieza.

At present, Frieza spoke, and everyone froze to listen. "Why hello there. Aren't you a strange little creature," he tapped the Seer's orb and the vision rippled on Salem's side. This seemed to make him pause. He repeated the action one more time and then gave a hearty chuckle.

"Well I will be damned! I can see faces in the orb staring at me," he waved his purple hand, "Hello there? Can you hear me?"

His speech seemed to be friendly, even playful. But Salem could hear the mocking and coldness in his tone, conveying his feeling of absolute superiority and power over others. Salem knew that, given the chance, he would kill them all without a single thought. Though she didn't need to listen to him to see that. She just needed to look into his eyes.

Then from above, a voice spoke dripping in anger. "How… dare he… mock OUR QUEEN! SEIZE HIM!"

Salem, too preoccupied by Frieza, had lost some of her concentration and control over the Seer. At Tyrian's command, the Seer's tentacles wrapped around Frieza tightly, constricting him. Tyrian leapt down from the roof triumphantly, grinning maniacally.

"You see my queen," he purred, "We got him! Aren't you proud?"

Before Salem could answer, a sharp laugh brought her and everyone else's attention back to the Seer.

"Why such rude hospitality!" Frieza said in mock surprise, "All I have done is ask if anyone is there and you attack me!" He laughed a bit before suddenly he spoke once more, his voice now dripping with a calm menace.

"However, when I do that, I kill people. Sometimes entire races." His eyes glinted as he spoke, showing the enjoyment he got from just talking about it. "If you're not careful… you maybe next."

Following this remark, he did something rather odd. He puckered his lip and blew lightly as if trying to blow out the candle on a birthday cake. He did this for a few seconds before stopping. Another few seconds passed without anything happening. Suddenly, the tentacles wrapped around him snapped in half, sliced by an invisible force. As Salem's crew watched in amazement and horror, the tentacles fell away from Frieza and dissolved into mist. The Seer began to fall but Frieza grabbed the top and held it up to eye level, so he could still see the others.

"That was just a 'breath' of my power. Now, all kidding aside," he said, his playful mockery vanished, replaced by a chilling malice, "I think you owe me a bit of information. That is unless," his face contorted, his mouth stretching wide into a savage grin and his narrow eyes widening enough for veins to show," you want to suffer a fate far worse than death…"

The room in Salem's palace was dead silent, except for Mercury muttering, 'breath of power', to himself and resisting the urge to plant his face into the table. Then Salem sat up to her full height, turned to Tyrian and struck him across the face sending him sprawling.

"My apologies," Salem said to Frieza, putting on her best diplomatic and polite tone, "I did not mean for my servant to react in such a way. I promise you he will be severely punished for his actions."

Frieza's face relaxed, but his tone was still cold. "Oh, I see you are some kind of mistress. I can understand out of line subordinates. I'm actually searching for one right now as a matter of fact, so I can remind him where he belongs."

Salem outwardly smiled politely while inwardly she began formulating a plan to stroke some info out of him by stroking his ego.

"What is your name?" she asked, "And how did you know we were spying on you? Not many can sniff out a Grimm so easily."

Frieza's evil smile grew as he put his hand over his chest and inclined forward slightly. "I am Lord Frieza, ruler and conqueror of most of the known galaxy. As for how I knew," he rose, and Salem saw that the mocking humor was once again back in him, "Well, let's just say that when you are a tyrant such as myself and you have pathetic assassins and adorable avengers after your head, you begin to get a feeling for when you're being watched."

Salem nodded sympathetically, in the back of her mind cataloging the information she had collected. Meanwhile, her servants watched quietly, not daring to interrupt. Salem was about to probe once more when Frieza suddenly spoke curtly.

"My, you are a cheeky little rat, aren't you? Learning my name and even a little trade secret of mine." He paused, and his smile once again faded, replaced by a serious chilling look that made even the mighty sorcerous Salem feel small.

"But I am afraid that is all I will be telling you. In fact, as I said earlier, if you value your life you will tell me some information that I desire."

He didn't wait for a response and asked his first question. "Who are you?"

Around Salem, everyone tensed. Even Cinder had seemed to finally snap out of her daze and was looking nervously at her master. Salem sighed, and then replied in her best modest voice, "I am but a banished witch with a few crazed crones for servants. We dabble in dark magic and creatures after we were thrown out of our little village. That is all really, my lord," she added politely.

Frieza's eyes narrowed, the red pupils staring right through the Seer's orb and directly into Salem's. He said nothing for a second, considering her answer. Then he closed his eyes and smiled.

"Ah I see, I have been talking to a filthy commoner all along. How degrading," he shook his head, chiding himself, "But since I am your higher up, I feel I should give you a small piece of advice." He opened his eyes. Salem shivered, a bad feeling rising in her chest.

"After a tyrant has lived as long as I have, we also acquire another skill," Frieza continued, his face becoming darker as he spoke, "And that is always recognizing the liars…"

For the first time in centuries, Salem panicked. She sliced her hand through the Seer, killing it instantly and cutting the line of communication. The Grimm fell to the floor and lay for a few seconds before dissolving into black mist. She then fell back onto her chair, panting heavily.

She then realized that everyone was staring at her. It also struck her how weak and pathetic she must look right now, soaked in sweat. Just as pathetic as Lord Frieza had described her as. That thought turned her fear into rage. She stood up, her eyes blazing once more.

"Everyone out!" she snapped, "Go back to what I assigned you to do. Cinder wait in your chambers until I summon for you. Now OUT!" She roared the last word and her servants rushed out of the room, closing the door behind them just before she unleashed a whirlwind of dark magic.

Frieza stared at the now blank orb in his hand. Anger began to rise quickly as he thought of the disrespect and impudence the witch had displayed during their conversation. Then, as he stared at the orb, it died away.

"There is nothing to get angry about," he said quietly his cruel smile forming on his lips, "It's just another maggot I get to add to the list. Besides," he thought back to her face just before she broke the connection, "My name will haunt her every day until I find her and even then she will remember in the after-life."

He dropped the now dead Seer and walked back to the clearing, getting ready to take off once more in search of his targets.

"Though," he said pausing mid crouch, "I wasn't able to ask her about the whereabouts of the other brats. Though I doubt she could have provided me with any actual useful information, it reminds me of something I have been missing in this world."

His smile widened as he crouched lower and as he took off, he called out, "A Frieza Force!"

* * *

The gloved fist rocketed up to meet her chin before Yang could react. She spiraled in the air and fell a few feet away in a heap on the floor groaning in pain, her aura flickering around her body. Vegeta sat up opening and closing his fists as if he surprised, they still worked. He then glanced at Yang who was just beginning to get back up and snorted derisively.

"Consider yourself lucky girl," he said, "That was just a tiny fraction of what I am capable of. If I had hit with my full strength, your pretty little head wouldn't be attached to your shoulders."

At this moment, Tai returned with water and towels. He dropped them when he saw his daughter struggling to get up and Vegeta on his feet looking down at her.

"Oi! Get away from her!" he yelled, charging forward and trying to get Vegeta into a full nelson. Vegeta nimbly dodged to the side and swung his leg right into Tai's chest. Without his aura, Tai would have died. He flew across the room, through the wall and into the adjacent room where he lay dazed, his aura shattered.

Vegeta just tutted disapprovingly and was about to finish the job, when a robotic fist plowed into his cheek. He grunted, surprised to see Yang up again once more, her eyes now red, her aura flaring around her and a robotic arm now attached to her stump.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY FATHER!" she roared and launched another punch into the other side of Vegeta's head. It collided with sickening 'WHAM' and he was smashed through the floor of her bedroom completely and into the living room downstairs. Yang looked down through the hole he had made to see what had become of him. To her surprise, and increased anger, Vegeta was standing up once more, patting dust off his armor. He then looked back up and grinned smugly.

"Good hit girl! I almost felt that one!" he jeered at her.

Yang screamed in outrage and leaped down head first with her fist both outstretched. It was a rash and dangerous move, but she was blinded with anger, unable to think straight. Vegeta simply sidestepped and she would have face-planted into the floor if he did not catch her foot and held her effortlessly, dangling in mid-air.

"Let go of me!" she fought to get out of his grip, trying to swing herself toward him so she could land a punch. Every time she did, he just tilted his head to one side and dodged it. He watched her do this for a few seconds before he spoke.

"Disgraceful, take defeat like a warrior! You're no match for me anyway." His words stung, and she stopped fighting, going limb.

"I guess you're going to kill me," she asked shakily, trying to think straight though finding it difficult as the blood rushed to her head. Vegeta snorted.

"Usually, I would not hesitate. You disrespected the Prince of all Saiyans, a crime punishable by death, but," and here he dropped her onto the ground, "I need information about where I am. If you service me in that regard, I will let you live."

Yang staggered once more to her feet, her anger still alive and aura still strong. But she made move to attack him. He had been right when he said she was no match for him. She had punched him twice with all her might and had barely fazed him in the end. But that did not mean she was going to take what he did sitting down.

"What do you mean where you are?" she asked aggressively, "You're in our house on the isle of Patch in the world of Remnant after you somehow teleported here via light magic or something."

Vegeta looked at her, considering her response carefully. Then he closed his eyes and said a little less aggressively than before, "Yes, I do remember a bright light. I was on Namek facing off with- "He suddenly stopped, his eyes flying open. A look of fear passed over his face. "Damn… he's here."

Yang looked puzzled at the sudden change of attitude. Her anger didn't quite dissipate but slowly her aura calmed down and her eyes began to revert to their normal shade of lilac. "Umm… excuse me? Could you like, I don't know tell me who you are? Least you could do for attacking us and smashing our house."

Vegeta snapped out of his stupor and looked at her, a smirk returning to his face. "Well, you see I am Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans! You are lucky to be hosting such a presence in your house!"

Yang heard her father groan upstairs and raised an eyebrow. "Lucky. Yeah, I'm not feeling it. And what's a Saiyajin or Saiyan or whatever you called it?"

At first, Vegeta looked appalled. Then he just shook his head. "Figures, I guess. The last time I dealt with humans, they were also just as thick as you." Then, ignoring Yang's annoyance, he embarked on a long and epic tale about the race known as Saiyans. After the first few sentences, Yang wanted to shut him up, but as he kept talking, she began to get lost in his story of mighty warriors with the power to become great apes during the full moon. She was both fascinated and horrified at their described power and brutality. But, most strangely of all, she didn't at one-point doubt or disbelieve his story. Many would have brushed off Vegeta's tale as the babbles of a man who had one to many, but Yang didn't, and she couldn't tell why. Maybe it was because he fought with and seen just how powerful he was or maybe it was the amount of pride and passion he told his tale with that convinced her. Either way, she listened to him until the very end, at which point Tai had climbed down the stairs to find the two in the living room.

"Alright buddy," Tai began storming over to Vegeta, "I don't want you in my house or anywhere near my-,"

"Dad!" Yang shushed him, "Stop talking. Vegeta will beat us up easily if you piss him off. He's a powerful alien warrior."

Vegeta grunted, surprised to see Yang catch up so quickly. "Listen to the girl, she has the right idea. While you're at it, fetch me a drink. I'm dying of thirst here."

Tai, though looking quite affronted by being ordered around in his own house, obeyed and went into the kitchen. While he was gone, Vegeta turned back to Yang and regarded her with grudging respect.

"You're not a bad fighter for a human to be honest. Still hopelessly weak but..."

He lapsed into thought, closing his eyes in concentration. Yang was about to ask him if he was okay, when he opened his eyes and said, "Maybe not a completely hopeless case."

Yang blinked. "Wait, what did you just do there?"

"I sensed for your power level," Vegeta explained, "All beings have a power level that can be sensed or at least an energy that can be sensed as power levels are quite inaccurate." He scoffed, clearly suppressing a bad memory. "Anyway, you have untapped potential that could be unlocked. Of course, only through hard and rigorous training."

"Hard training?" Yang asked suspiciously. She trained everyday she could. Even in the last few weeks, she had begun to do her daily exercise regime of lifting weights, running laps, doing plank's and punching sandbags. But something told her that what Vegeta was suggesting was different.

Tai came back from the kitchen, carrying three glasses of water and handing two of them to Yang and Vegeta. Then he sat down on the couch and for a few minutes the three drank in silence. Then Yang broke the silence.

"Well, Vegeta, do you have anywhere to stay? I mean, as long as you don't destroy our house or try to kill us anymore, we can lend you a room."

Tai choked on his water. "What?! Yang, what are you saying?"

"Oh, toughen up dad," she scolded, "This is far from the first time the house has been nearly destroyed. Me and Ruby did it a few years back. It took you seven months to repair that wall."

"Yeah but this is different," Tai argued, "This man tried to kill us."

"Won't deny it," Vegeta muttered unhelpfully. Yang glared at him. "Hey, doesn't mean you will be staying her lounging, Mr. Prince. You're going to help rebuild what you destroyed and train me to become stronger."

This time, both Vegeta and Tai stared at her.

"Help… rebuild?" Vegeta repeated.

"Train… you?" Tai repeated.

"Yep!" Yang said, and she smiled genuinely for the first-time weeks. Despite how crazy it sounded, this was exactly what she needed to get her head back in the game. A near death experience and an exhilarating fight to top that.

Tai just shook his head but didn't argue anymore. He told Vegeta that his room would be the guest room upstairs and he headed up to set it up. Vegeta just stood quietly, not sure what to do now. Yang then brought him back to Remnant with another question.

"By the way, earlier you mentioned someone was here. You said, 'Damn he's here' or something and you looked absolutely terrified. Who did you mean?"

Vegeta's face darkened deeply. "First off, I wasn't terrified and don't ever accuse me of such a thing again. Second, … I was referring to Frieza." Clearly not wanting to say anymore, he picked up the remote for the TV and turned it on before Yang could ask. This was a mistake.

"As you can see, we are once again bringing you live coverage of the remains of the city of Vale and Beacon Academy," a news reporter said on the television, standing in front of a video showing a fly-by of the crater. "The cause for this sudden and horrific event is still unknown to us and is still being investigated by the top detectives and Huntsman in the world. All witnesses can offer is that they say a bright orange energy blast light up the sky for a few minutes before dying out."

Yang sat in silence, grief and terror overcoming her. She could hardly believe that the crater they were showing was really all that was left of Vale and Beacon. A home to her. She had shared so many good and bad memories there, it had become a sacred site to her, a place of mass importance. And now-

Out of the corner of her eye, a spinning object suddenly flew past and dug itself into the television. She turned to see Vegeta, sitting bolt upright, eyes wide and glassy. Yang was about to yell at him when she realized that he saw her emotions reflected in his face. Terror were in those glassy eyes. Instead of yelling, Yang gently asked, "Are you okay?"

He did not respond right away. He just turned and looked at her for a second, the terror still in him. Then he spoke in a hoarse whisper, "Frieza destroyed my home planet… just like he destroyed that city…" He gulped with difficulty and continued, "I tried to avenge my people back on Namek but…" Then something new entered his face. Pride. It began to spread slowly throughout, kicking out the fear. As it did so, his voice become steadier and stronger. "But I will avenge them. I will make sure he rots in hell for what he did to the Saiyan race. He will feel the might of the Prince of all Saiyans and even more. He will feel the wrath of the legendary Super Saiyan!" The proud loud warrior voice had returned now, and his face broke into a defiant smile.

Beside him, Yang smiled. Though she was still devastated by the loss of Beacon and the horrified of the prospect of this planet buster Frieza being out there, she was happy to someone fight through their troubles. An admirable feat that she, had only now begun to do herself. And besides, now she had something in common with the Prince. No matter how powerful he was, she would make sure that Frieza would pay for his crimes.

"What's a Super Saiyan?" she asked trying to take her mind of Beacon and focus on her new ally. Vegeta grinned smugly and started on another story about an ancient legend passed down the ages in Saiyan mythology, with Yang listening contently.

* * *

"She is quiet the hysterical one isn't she," Ozpin commented as Oscar watched Bulma pulling at her and sobbing on the ground. It had been only a few minutes since she had sudden awoken and angrily demanded to know where she was. When Oscar had given her answer, after thoroughly making sure she really didn't know where she was, she had crumpled to the floor and wept her eyes out.

"Try to comfort her," Ozpin now urged. Oscar, feeling afraid, approached Bulma anxiously.

"Umm… I know you're in a bit of hysterical moment right now, but ummm…" Oscar faltered, unable to say anything. Unfortunately, he had caught her attention.

"Yes," she said, dangerously calm, "I am quite hysterical. You would be to if you were TRANSPORTED TO ANOTHER WORLD!" she yelled the last words in his face and then fell back onto the floor crying.

"Well, that went well," Ozpin said sarcastically, "I would say continue to make sure she recovers; however, time is of the essence and we must get to Haven Academy as quickly as possible.

An idea suddenly came into Oscar's head. It was as stupid idea, sure and it would doubtlessly expose him to more verbal abuse, but something told him the Bulma's sudden appearance was far more than just a random encounter.

"Come with me to Mistral," he now offered, wondering if he was crazy, "You have nowhere else to go. Besides, I don't feel our meeting was a coincidence." He finished on a more serious note. Bulma stopped crying and looked up at him, considering her options. Meanwhile, in Oscar's head, Ozpin was berating him.

"What are you doing? We don't have time to take her with us. She looks like no fighter and will only slow us down."

"You said that a new force was in motion here in Remnant," Oscar countered, fighting with Ozpin's will in his mind, "And this is definitely part of this motion."

Oscar was surprised at his own conclusion. He had no real basis behind, and nothing to convince Ozpin that he was right. But his words seemed to do the trick all the same. Ozpin seemed to relax slightly and when Oscar went up to Bulma once more, he did not interject.

Bulma, for her part, had looked up Oscar and had considered his offer. _A grubby farm boy offering me help to a train station…_ She had to admit to herself, it was far from the strangest proposal she had gotten. And, in this case, she was glad for it. As a scientist, Bulma needed more information about her whereabouts to make a substantial theory or hypothesis on her sudden appearance there. If this boy was a native, she could learn some valuable info.

"Yeah, alright," she said, wiping her tears away and accepting Oscar's hand up. "I'm Bulma Briefs by the way."

"Oscar Pine," Oscar said, smiling. He then motioned down the path and they both began to walk toward the station.

"So, could you tell me more about this world while we walk?" Bulma asked soon after departure. Now that she had recovered from her initial shock, her scientific curiosity began to kick into high-gear.

"Well," Oscar pondered, "What exactly do you want to know about?"

"The basics of course, but I wouldn't mind knowing about some of the technological advancements in this world as well."

"Are you a scientist of some sort," Oscar asked, intrigued as he had never met one during his life on the farm. Bulma puffed out her chest.

"You bet! Well more of an inventor actually, but I do have the mindset of a scientist, so it counts. Now, indulge me."

Oscar did, describing the kingdoms of Remnant, the races of humans and faunus and their differences, the dangerous creatures known as Grimm and the Huntsmen that combated them. He talked about the highly sophisticated technology that had been created over the years, to the great interest of Bulma, and the raw material known as Dust that powers their technology and weapons. It was a few hours until Oscar finally asked himself how he knew all of this. He had never been far from home and had never left his home kingdom. Then he realized, memories were being subtly filtered into his brain. _Ozpin_. Just some of the perks of having a wise being rooming in your brain.

Bulma was a good listener. She didn't interrupt much and kept an interest the entire time. It had been the first time a while where she had heard a good story that didn't involve herself and the planet in mortal peril. Speaking of which, once Oscar was finally done with his long-winded rundown of Remnant, Bulma returned the favor by regaling him with stories of her adventures back on Earth with one of her best friends, Goku.

Oscar was astonished at some of the things he heard and even Ozpin in his head was impressed of what this Goku was capable of. Defeating an entire army when just a boy, winning serious martial arts tournaments, fighting off evil baddies such as demons, aliens, robots, a blue dwarf and a mafia rabbit. The only other thing that caused even greater surprise was the concept of the wish granting Dragon Balls that had revived people from the dead-on multiple occasions. All this lead up to Bulma's latest adventure, the one she had been on before being transported to Remnant, where she suddenly became sour and complained about being ordered to stay in a mucky cave for most of the time, while the others were searching Namek for the Dragon Balls.

"I can see why that's frustrating," Oscar said trying to calm her down before she began yelling again, "But wasn't it for the best? Didn't you say that were super powerful bad guys on the planet as well that would have easily killed you?"

"Well yeah, but still," Bulma scowled, "They should at least be gentler and kinder about it. I am a lady after all and should be treated appropriately than being holed up in a wet cave."

Oscar didn't argue. It was beginning to get late and the sun was setting over the horizon, shining beautiful orange colors on nearby clouds. Oscar pointed to a little patch of dry clean grass just off the road.

"We can camp there for the night. I know it will be uncomfortable, but it's the best we can do. I have an extra blanket for you, so you can at least be warm."

Bulma smiled. "Thanks. And don't worry. After being in that cave for days, sitting on the grass under a clear sky sounds like heaven."

They sat down and Oscar dug into his backpack, producing two blankets and a few energy bars he had smuggled for the walk to the station. They ate in content silence, watching the sun go down and the sky darken. As they finished eating, Bulma said, "I wish I had my capsules with me. I could have given us a small house, car and a cooler with packed lunches. Too bad I left them in Namek."

Oscar's eyebrows shot up. "A small house, car and a cooler in a capsule? Like those little cylinders?"

Bulma grinned nodding. "Yep! That's what family does. I guess I so focused on telling my adventures with Goku I didn't mention that my family are billionaires that own a company called Capsule Corp. We make these small capsules that can contain any number of awesome things such as I mentioned. All you need to do is press the top and throw it on the ground and presto! The item that was inside is now there and can always be reverted back into a capsule with a simple press of a button."

Oscar stared, mouth agape. He couldn't imagine how they would work. Even Ozpin was stunned.

Bulma yawned loudly. "I'm going to hit the hay. But before I do so, I would like to just thank you once more, Oscar." She smiled sweetly and then lay down on her blanket.

Oscar didn't respond but nodded appreciatively. He too lay down and was about to go to sleep when Ozpin's voice echoed in his head.

"I wonder if this Goku is on Remnant now as well. If so, we will need his help to bring back peace to our world."

 **As Ozpin speaks these grave words, the world of Remnant has undergone a dynamic change. The villains of the darkness have found something to fear while the young Huntsman who oppose them have found new allies to aid in their journey. Three sides have been formed, the Huntsman and the Z-Warriors, Salem and her crew of misfits and the overpowering tyrannical Lord Frieza. Can the young Huntsman and the Z-Warriors fight as one? Can Salem find a way to avoid Frieza's wrath? And can Frieza fulfill his wish of an army? Find out next time on Dragon Ball R!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Hey guys and welcome back to another addition to Dragon Ball R! Like last time, I am ever grateful for your reviews and take all the advice given to me to heart. One such advice is how I compared Yang to Krillin and many of you say I made it too close, to which I agree with. In this chapter, I will try to remedy it and make sure to keep the Z-Warrior's far above the Huntsmen. However, I do hope to get them stronger through training soon enough. Anyway, that's all from me so let's get right into the action.**

 **Last time on Dragon Ball R, our heroes have finally met each other, but bonds have yet to be built and tensions are still high. Meanwhile, Salem has found a new definition of fear after her talk with none over than Lord Frieza. The power gap between the two just seems too incredible to be real! Is there any chance for her to succeed in her goals? Today: Aura vs Ki!? The Immense Power Gap!?**

* * *

Weiss hadn't quite known what to expect when she would meet the mysterious man. During her jog down the stairs to the medical facility, she had pictured a very burly, muscular tough guy with a scraggily beard, mustache and really poor body odor. However, when she finally reached the medical facility and ran to the room he was being kept at, she had not expected a rather skinny man fighting to keep a needle full of morphine away from him. This would have been more comical if it hadn't been for the fact that every time he struggled, the Dust bindings loosened and snapped while the table shook violently.

"What in the world is going on here?" Weiss questioned flabbergasted at the strange scene before her. Behind her, Klein came panting down the stairs, also looking startled at what was going.

"Tell this guy to stop waving needles at me please!" the mysterious man said, still struggling and breaking another Dust binding. He then twisted over and, ripping the rest of the bindings off, rolled off the table and onto the floor.

"Phew!" he said, sitting up and patting down his martial arts clothes, "that's much bet-"  
Before he could finish, he suddenly doubled over in pain, groaning has he grabbed his chest and stomach. Weiss and the others ran to his side.

"Are you okay?" Weiss said, still anxious to not get too close to the man **.** Though he wasn't the buff tough guy she was expecting, he was still clearly very strong, and she got the feeling he could easily take her our if he so wanted to.

"Yeah," the man muttered, still groaning, "but that wound from the fight with Ginyu is still hurting me. I thought the healing chamber that Vegeta put me in would heal me completely."

Before Weiss could even ask what he was talking about, he seemed to realize his unknown surroundings. He looked around the room, trying to figure out his bearings and his gaze fell on Weiss.

"Umm… where am I?" he asked, "this doesn't look like the ship."

Weiss then got hit by a sudden horrible realization. She turned to Klein. "When he got out of the healing tank, was it finished healing him?"

Klein didn't know, but the doctor that had tried to inject the needle suddenly blanched.

"No, my lady," he said shakily, "We took him out when we saw the crack. He still had many wounds on him. We healed them up and fixed his bones and limbs. But you think taking him out of the chamber may have messed up his full healing process?"

Weiss nodded. She knew that their medical facility was equipped with the best medicine that Remnant had to offer. If they couldn't fix an injured person, something must have gone wrong in the healing process. As she was thinking this, the man suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, don't worry about. You had to get me out of there. Besides, you did a pretty good job healing me up. It's just that one wound in my chest. I will be a bit weaker for a bit, but I should heal up on my own soon enough."

Weiss was about to interject, saying they should work on healing him fully, but the doctor nodded. "He's right. Sometimes it's better to just let the body heal itself. Besides," the doctor looked at the man nervously, "This is no ordinary guy."

The man chuckled, grinning and rubbing the back of his head. Then something crossed his mind and he asked suddenly, "Is there anything I can eat? I'm starving!"

Bewildered, Weiss looked at Klein. He stood up and bowed.

"I will ask the kitchens to prepare a meal for him," he said before turning to the man and asking politely, "Is there anything in particular you would want?"

"Anything you got!" he replied cheerfully, "Just so long as there is a lot of it! And I mean a lot!"

Klein looked a little perplexed but bowed all the same and left. The doctor packed his things away as well and bid them goodbye, telling the man not to stress himself too much for a few days.

"If you do too much physical activity, the healing we provided for you may become undone and your bones and limbs may start feeling very painful once more. We would usually use aura healing, but since you lack aura we had to use conventional methods."

The man pouted. Then he brightened once more and asked, "Can I still do training?"

The doctor looked at him, wondering if he was joking. "No, that counts as physical activity."

"Aww, but how am I going to stronger? Especially with… him around." His voice faded, and his face grew serious. Weiss had a funny suspicion she knew who he was talking about. She turned to the doctor.

"Thank you for your services. I will send you the payment via scroll."

The doctor bowed and left. Weiss then turned to the man. He was still looking down at the ground, but his eyes had now closed, and he seemed to be concentrating. Weiss thought he was meditating and felt bad she had to interrupt him, but she needed answers.

"Umm… hello?" The man's eyes snapped open and he looked at her. Then he smiled. A friendly, warm smile that made Weiss feel a sudden flow of hope drift inside her.

"Sorry about that," he said, "Was just sensing for some energy." He raised his hand towards Weiss. "My name is Son Goku. What's yours?"

"Weiss Schnee," Weiss replied returning the smile and handshake. His grip was soft, but strong and she could tell he had trained with them for his entire life. She also could tell another thing, clear as daylight. He was far stronger than person she had ever met in her entire life. It was hard to say how she knew, but just gripping his hand, she was certain of it.

Goku let go of her hand and she blurted out something. "Is Frieza here?"

The cheery atmosphere dissolved instantly, Goku's happy expression with it. "How do you know about him," he asked seriously, his eyes looking straight at hers.

"You… you were saying his name in your sleep when the doctors were healing you," she stammered, suddenly unnerved by his stare. How could such a nice man turn into such an intimidating one so quickly?

Goku sighed and looked down at his hands. "Yes. He is here. But I don't know if you understand what that means for your world."

Weiss gulped. The memory of what Klein had told her still fresh in her mind, she felt her eyes grow watery. She didn't want to ask her next question, but knew she had to if should ever be able to understand.

"Does… does he have the power to… destroy cities?"

Goku looked up, and he saw her pain and grief. His face softened, but his eyes now burned with anger. "Yes… that would be him." He decided not to mention the fact that Frieza was able to blow up entire planets, knowing the fact might break the poor girl.

"Was he the one you were fighting that got you this injured?" Weiss asked, trying to push back her feelings and learn more.

"No, that was one of his servants," Goku said, feeling his chest once more, "One of them changed his body with mine and I was stuck in his body for a time. My friends were able to basically beat him out of his body, but once I had gotten back into my body I was broken from head to toe."

He looked at her to see her staring in amazement. "Changed bodies?"

Goku then realized that she probably had never heard of such abilities or fought anyone with them. She probably didn't even have Ki. But if that was the case, why did he sense above average energy coming from her? It wasn't her exactly, but something that coated her.

"Do you use Ki energy?" he asked, perplexed by his own thoughts. "I can sense some energy coming from you."

Weiss shook her head. "I don't know what that is. But I do have aura, which is like a life energy that some of us use to shield attacks and power up our own."

Goku nodded, smiling once more. "Then you must have quite a lot of it. It's quite strong. I think. with lots of intense training, you could become as strong as some my friends!"

Weiss smiled, giggling a little and wiping the tears from her face. "I don't know if I would want to train with you. You seem to be a person who uses extreme training methods considering how powerful you are." Then something he said gave her a sudden thought and once again her expression became somber. "I bet your friends miss you. I presume you're from a different world, going by your power and experiences."

To her surprise, Goku's smile didn't waiver. "It's true I'm from another world. But my friends seemed to have been transported here as well."

Weiss blinked. "How are you sure?"

"I sensed their energies, just like I did yours. But theirs are quite powerful so I could sense them from far away. Neat trick ain't it?"

Weiss nodded, wondering just what the extent of Goku's powers was. She was about to ask what else he could do, when Klein came back downstairs and told them food was ready. Goku immediately jumped up in excitement and suddenly grabbed Weiss's hand.

"Come on, let's talk more over food! I want to hear all about you and this world!"

Before Weiss or Klein could say anything, Goku dashed up the stairs at a surprisingly fast pace, dragging Weiss behind him. He ran up three flights of stairs all the way to the dining hall, following the scent of hot steamy food. Within 15 seconds, he reached the dining hall, a trip that would usually have taken about 2 minutes from downstairs, and burst through the large doors. There he finally stopped, and his grin grew even wider.

The long glass table of the Schnee dining hall was laden with dishes full of all kinds of delicious food. Steamy soups sat next to hot toasted bread slices. Serving bowls of Ramen and pasta sat close together, surrounded by a mass of spices and sauces to marinate them with. In the center of it all, a massive boar lay on a silver platter, sporting a comical apple in its mouth. The mixture of smell would make anyone's mouth water, especially someone like Goku.

Weiss, who was recovering from her speedy journey upstairs, cracked a small smile to see the wide smile he was sporting. It reminded her fondly of someone else she knew. "I wonder if he likes cookies?" she thought, chuckling internally.

She would soon find out that Goku's appetite was inhuman. As she sat down at the head of the table and placed a napkin neatly in her nap, she looked to see Goku sitting next to her and tearing his teeth through the entire boar. On the table in front of him, his soup bowl was already empty. Weiss watched with a mix of amazement and horror as he finished the boar within seconds, leaving nothing but bone, and grabbed the massive ramen serving bowl and sucked it all out in less than ten seconds. He did the same to the pasta serving bowl, but not before emptying every sauce and spice on it. Then he laid back and burped, glancing at Weiss's astonished face.

"Can I have some more please?"

Weiss's mouth fell open. Behind them, Klein arrived, panting up the stairs and stared at the carnage on the table.

"What happened here?!" he cried. Goku gave him a confused look and Weiss snapped herself out her daze.

"Klein," she said, not believing what she was about to ask, "Could you bring out more food."

Klein stared at her, then at Goku who gave him a friendly smile, then back at Weiss. "That was enough food for five people, easy! Did he-?"

Weiss nodded. Klein stared at Goku once more before taking a breath and walking to the kitchens, muttering in disbelief.

After he left, Goku suddenly looked very apologetic. "Sorry. I should have left some for you. Chi-Chi always said I should let people serve themselves first before I eat."

Weiss shook her head, laughing. It was just too much for her. "Don't worry. I'm not that hungry myself. Besides I don't think I could after watching you, no offense of course."

"None taken," Goku said, "It's just one of my biggest hobbies, other than training of course." He suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh, that's right! You were supposed to tell me more about yourself and this world. I may not be too smart, but I do like some stories."

Klein reentered the dining hall, pushing a cart full of more food. As he placed them on the table and as Goku devoured them one by one, Weiss told him her experiences at Beacon, her teammates, friends, classes and adventures. She told him about the time they had that split up around the city of Vale to stop the thief Roman Torchwick.

As Goku ate an entire tuna, Weiss described the events during the Vytal Festival and what had befallen them at the end of the battle of Beacon. Her voice trembled when she recalled the death of Pyrrha Nikos and the splitting up of Team RWBY. Then, since Goku was still eating through his fifth cart of food, she started to talk about herself and her family, the business side of things and how it had begun to affect her relationship with the rest of her family. She decided not to mention the fact that she had been grounded recently and locked in her room for the past few days. She didn't think Goku needed to hear about that.

Speaking of Goku, once she had finished discussing her family, she glanced at him. He was chomping down on a turkey sandwich the size of a watermelon, which he had also eaten at some point. Klein came around and brought his eighth cart of food and Weiss figured that Goku was still not slowing down.

"Go one," he suddenly said, a mouthful of turkey and bread in his mouth, "I still got room for a few more carts of food."

Weiss blinked. "How- "She stopped herself. The fact that he may have the power to read minds just didn't surprise her anymore. Her suspicion was confirmed when he nodded knowingly at her.

"I don't like using it though. That's why I am asking you to tell me yourself. It's always more interesting."

Weiss nodded and as Goku winded down through his last few carts of food, she told him about the basics of Remnant and the aura that Huntsmen use. By the time she had finished and Goku had cleared out his last bowl of food, the table was so messy that it didn't look like it could ever be clean once more. Weiss hadn't kept track of time but when she quickly checked her scroll, hours had passed since they had sat down to eat.

Goku belched loudly, rubbing his belly in satisfaction. Standing behind him, Klein looked at the table, trying to figure out how many cleaners he would need to help him clean up the insane mess.

"That was amazing!" Goku said cheerfully, "Thanks Weiss! And thanks for all the stories. I must say your life is quite the interesting one."

Weiss blushed. "You are too kind. But I bet it isn't anything compared to your life."

Goku considered her for a second. "I don't think our lives are too different actually. Like you, I fight for my friends and family. Though the enemies we face maybe different, our goals are alike."

"Then what are some adventures you have been on?" Weiss asked curiously, "You must tell me. Plus, you owe me for the food and my stories."

Goku chuckled. "Guess I do."

He was about to start when the doors to the dining room opened. Standing there, looking appalled, Weiss's parents and brother had returned from their dinner party.

* * *

Tai sipped his coffee, nervously looking through the kitchen window as Yang fell on the ground once more at the feet of their house guest. As promised the day before, Vegeta had begun training Yang. However, his methods were borderline cruel.

Yang had been woken up at four a clock in the morning by being literally kicked out of her bed. She had been then ordered to dress up and run down the stairs within thirty seconds. Groggy and annoyed, Yang hadn't taken the order literally and took her time dressing up and walking downstairs. When she had stepped outside, Vegeta had barked at her that she was too slow and to go back upstairs, undress, and start once more. Yang had complained angrily, but Vegeta threatened to her throw her through her window from outside.

Yang did what she was told and redid the drill, this time arriving downstairs dramatically by jumping down from the window and using her aura to cushion the fall. She thought it would impress the Prince and gave him a smug look. To her fury, Vegeta just yelled at her to go back upstairs, undress and repeat the drill, saying she needed to use the stairs. After another five attempts, Yang finally completed the exercise correctly under the allotted time.

Panting slightly, Yang got ready for Vegeta to give her some simple drills to start off. Instead, Vegeta picked up a boulder the size of a Labrador Retriever and instructed her to tie it on her back and do a thousand push-ups with it on. Yang had to use almost all of her aura to get through the exercise alive and even then, she felt her body searing with pain. All the while, Vegeta watched quietly scowling with his arms crossed.

Once she had finished, Vegeta gave her the next assignment just as Tai woke up and walked downstairs to make breakfast. He overheard Vegeta instructing Yang, with the boulder still on her back, to rip out a couple of choice trees around the house. Wondering if he had heard right, Tai looked outside to watch. When he saw the twenty-foot-high and eight-foot-wide trees that Vegeta was pointing to, he had run out fearing for his daughter's life. He argued that Yang was absolutely unable to do what he asked and that his training was ridiculous. In response, Vegeta walked to the tree he had pointed to and, using one hand, effortlessly uprooted it and threw it to the ground with a thunderous crash.

"Your daughter," he snarled menacingly, "Asked me to train her for her hospitality. I have been generous enough to do so despite her being so much weaker than I am. I am doing just that."

Tai was about to yell that what there was a big difference between him and her, but Yang, still wearing the boulder on her back, silenced him by going up to a similar tree and griping it tightly. She grunted, mustering up all her aura. The tree began to budge slightly. She yelled defiantly and the roots at the foot of the tree began to crack until they lifted free from the ground. Now holding the massive tree, Yang tried to toss the tree away from her. Instead, she dropped the tree down less than a foot away and it collapsed to the ground on its own. Yang fell back, panting deeply, her aura completely spent. Beside her, Tai gaped at the fallen tree. Vegeta just grunted, clearly unimpressed by her effort. He told her to repeat the action with five more trees around the property and to only come back once she was done. He also said that she wouldn't be getting breakfast until her training was complete.

Five hours later, Yang had upended every massive tree around the house. Now she sat in front of Vegeta, Tai watching from the kitchen, sweating all the moisture she had left in her. All her aura was gone, spent completely and recharging at such a sluggish rate, Yang was convinced she wouldn't be at full strength until the next day. Vegeta looked down at her, unsympathetic to her pain.

"Get up girl," he ordered, "It's time for combat training."

With no energy to even argue, Yang rose slowly and shakily. Vegeta set his feet and said, "I want you to attack me. You must land a hit on me to earn breakfast, two to finish."

Yang raised her fists and charged at him, though it was less of a charge and more of a lumber. She threw a week punch at him, which he dodged effortlessly. Then he countered her with a hard punch to the gut, catching her completely off-guard. As she stumbled back, she choked and hacked out some blood. Meanwhile, Vegeta just huffed in annoyance.

"Just because I didn't say I would counter; doesn't mean you don't prepare for one. You always must be prepared. Now again!"

Yang stumbled toward, him blinking sweat, tears and spots out of her eyes. She went for an upper-cut but Vegeta didn't even bother dodging and instead sent a fist right into her face. A sickening 'CRACK' sounded and Yang fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, still somehow conscious but now with blood all over her face. From the house, Tai yelled and ran outside, carrying a first-aid kit.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he roared at Vegeta, wiping the blood off of Yang's face and trying to see the damage, "SHE DOESN'T HAVE ANY AURA LEFT! GIVE HER A BREAK!"

Vegeta scowled deeply. "Aura? The hell is that?"

"Aura is like a life force that Huntsmen utilize to shield attacks and add power to their own," Tai snarled, bringing out bandages and starting to place them carefully over Yang's crooked nose.

"Hmmph, that explains the difference from yesterday," Vegeta then scoffed, "It also explains why I thought you were as strong as the other human. All that energy I sensed was just the mass of aura you have in you. But it has nothing to do with your actual strength. On your own, you are weaker than some of the toddler Saiyans!"

He looked down at her, disgust on his face. "Using your energy for attacks and strength is one thing, but only using it as a layer of protection is disgraceful!"

Tai rose to his full height and, despite how easily he was bested the day before, stood face to face to Vegeta. "Are you calling my daughter weak? She landed two hits on you if I remember correctly."

Vegeta actually laughed. A cold smug laugh. "First, those hits felt like nothing. I have been hit harder by rocks! Second, the only reason she could touch me is because her anger boosted her energy and raised her power. But anger is only so useful. Once it fails, you are finished."

Tai balled his fists. "We gave you hospitality, despite your attack yesterday. Now you torture my daughter and call her weak?!"

"Dad…," a voice croaked and they both looked down to see Yang raising her head slightly. "I asked for this… I asked for the hard training he told me he did. I want to become stronger… I don't want to rely on my anger and aura as much. My Semblance… it's useful, but I can't just depend on it every time I'm in a hard spot. Besides, if I get stronger in general… my aura and Semblance will as well."

Tai stood silent, trying to find a way to say that it was suicide. Vegeta stood silent as well, regarding Yang as she shakily stood up and faced Vegeta once more, her nose broken and her knees shaking. But despite all of that, she was smiling.

"Tch, enough. Go eat," Vegeta turned and walked off, "We will continue tomorrow morning. And you better leave some food for me or I swear I will blow up that house."

The two watched him walk away, Tai still fuming and Yang still smiling.

* * *

In a small village at the edge of the kingdom of Vale, a bloodbath was ensuing. Human villagers screamed as gun fire echoed throughout the town. Many fell as the bullets hit pierced their retreating backs.

The people responsible for this were not people. Faunus in white clothes and masks, targeted any human in sight and gunned them down. The villagers that were faunus as well were captured and imprisoned for future indoctrination into the terrorist organization known as the White Fang.

Ever since the attack on Beacon, this had become the new routine for them. Find small defenseless villages across Remnant, slaughter the humans and capture the fuanus for recruitment. With Atlas closing their borders recently, locking up the main military force in Remnant, the attacks had become easier and less time consuming.

"Come on!" yelled the captain, a brutish faunus with a buffalo nose under his mask, "We don't have all day! Round up the rest of the faunus and kill the rest of the humans. I don't want to hear the cry of a baby by the time we leave!"

The soldiers yelled in assent and began to run through the village, kicking open doors and occasionally firing at hiding humans. The buffalo faunus chortled, enjoying the carnage. Then behind him, he heard a polite and eloquent voice say, "Now this is quite the show, I must say."

The captain whirled around to find a weird alien figure standing behind him, smiling cruelly as he watched the bloodshed. Though being barely half his size, the captain immediately felt an instinctual urge to run away as fast as possible. He ignored it and barked at the newcomer, "Oi! Whatcha doing here freakshow? Get out of here before we-"

His final sentence was interrupted by a purple beam of energy going right through his chest. He had barely any time to cry out or see what had hit him before the energy beam came back around and pierced through his head. He fell to the ground as Frieza walked past him, still smiling but saying in an ice-cold tone, "Such rudeness will not do at all."

At this point, the rest of the White Fang members had noticed what had happened. A group of them yelled, turning their guns on Frieza and opening fire. The bullets hit Frieza but bounced off as harmlessly has if they were shooting cotton balls.

"My such, undisciplined scum," he mocked smiling. He then flexed his energy slightly around him in a shockwave. The moment the waves hit the firing members, they doubled over coughing blood as their organs burst inside of them. In a matter of seconds, a good forty faunus lay dead in pools of their own blood around Frieza. The few remaining ones dropped their weapons at once and began pleading for mercy.

"Mercy! Please!" they cried, tears cascading down their masks. Frieza scanned the groveling faunus, enjoying the pathetic sight. Then he heard something behind him. He turned to see a small baby goat faunus crying loudly in a small cage that held the captured faunus. The mother was trying to console it, looking terrified as Frieza looked at them. For a moment, he didn't do anything. Then he smiled widely and approached the cage.

"I am so sorry to have frightened your little baby," he said, his voice regal and apologetic, "I understand my methods can be a little disturbing." He stopped in front of the cage and kneeled down in front of the mother and baby who was still crying. He regarded it, still maintaining his cold smile. Then, quick as lightening, he snatched it out of the mother's hands.

"NO PLEASE DON'T!" she shrieked, flying at the edge of the cage, trying to reach her baby while the other faunus stood in mute horror. Frieza just chuckled heartlessly, staring down at the baby he was holding.

"Oh, don't worry," he assured her, "I won't kill your precious little baby." He turned his head to look at the still groveling White Fang members. "They will."

Ignoring the shrieks of the mother behind him, he walked back towards the White Fang members and tossed the screaming child on the ground in front of them. As they stared in horror, he said maliciously, "Here's the deal boys! If you can kill this screaming whelp and its mother afterward, I will spare you. You will then lead me to your leader. Is that clear?"

Frieza looked them over, his cold murderous eyes lingering on each for a second. They didn't move, still staring in horror at him and at the baby.

Impatience came over Frieza. He thrust his hand towards a nearby White Fang member. A light purple aura surrounded him and before he could cry out, he was flung into the air. As the others watched, he suddenly exploded at the height of the arc.

"Do not waste my time," Frieza said menacingly, his smile beginning to melt into a grimace, "You are lucky to even be interacting with someone such as myself. Now decide your fate!"  
A White Fang member slowly rose. Unsheathing a dagger from his belt, he approached the baby, trying to block out the increased wails of the mother. He knelt down beside it and raised the knife. He hesitated for a moment before plunging the dagger into the baby's stomach. The accumulated shrieks of baby and mother rose into a crescendo that could be heard for miles around. The White Fang member wrenched the knife free and dropped it before falling back, shaking uncontrollably.

"Good, very good!" Frieza said, clapping, "Please, everyone gives him a round of applause."

The other White Fang members, terrified if they did otherwise, began putting their hands together as well. The member who killed the baby didn't acknowledge and just sat trembling.

Frieza now turned to the rest of the members and they immediately fell silent. "Now that's done, the rest of you please finish off the rest of the filth in that cage."

A young foolish member spoke up saying, "But we have orders to-"

Frieza flicked his tail, hitting the bloody dagger laying on the ground and launching it faster than a speeding bullet into the throat of the member. He crumpled to the floor, gurgling as blood spurted from his neck.

"Anyone else want to defy me?" Frieza asked the group, "Because at this point, I could go either way." His smile melted, replaced with a look of cold disgust.

No one spoke. Instead, they all rose, retrieved their guns and then walked to the cage of prisoners. Frieza watched coolly as they opened fire on the screaming faunus, splattering the ground with blood. Once finished, Frieza called out to them. "Very good. You should all be very proud of yourselves. You have just enacted the first orders of Lord Frieza's Army on this world!"

The members did not reply, still terrified of a swift death that could fall upon them any second. Then, one bowed deeply towards Frieza. The others quickly followed suit, some kneeling and presenting their weapons to the tyrannical lord. Frieza laughed.

"Well, I guess you worms aren't as brainless after all." He looked down at them, his signature smile returning to his face, "Now, I suppose you wouldn't mind taking me to your leader."

* * *

The ferry blew its horn as it sidled up to the docks. The gangplank was lowered, and passengers began to disembark. Among them, Blake, Sun and Piccolo walked swiftly, trying to get out of the crowd. Once free, they beheld their destination.

Menagerie was a magnificent tropical isle. Palm trees lined the long white beaches. Oriental style houses were built on the hilly terrain, each adapted to the slope they were built at. In the distance, a long cobblestone road led up to a large mansion that crowned a grassy hill. Right before them, the city of Menagerie sang with activity.

Leading from the docks, the path opened up into the city market. Faunus of all kind shopped at the wooden stalls lining the streets, all seemingly at peace with the world at hand, unaware of the atrocities committed outside of their island.

"This place is amazing!" Sun marveled, "How could you ever leave this place Blake?"

Blake, seemingly unimpressed by the view, silently began walking up the main path, the other two following.

For Piccolo, the beautiful landscape didn't seem to connect with him either. He just closed his eyes and meditated as they walked, using his other senses to direct him. He attracted a lot of curious looks from the other faunus, some whispering to each other so he could not hear what they were saying. However, Piccolo was easily able to pick up what they were muttering with his sharp ears.

"Some type of faunus I tell you. Like a slug faunus."

"Nah, that can't be. My friend's wife is a slug faunus and all she has is antennae on her head."

"Daddy, who's the green guy?"

"Don't know Jimmy. Could be a mutation or a horrible disfigurement."

"Your fellow faunus sure are respectful," Piccolo growled at his new companions through gritted teeth, "Makes me really appreciate them."

Sun, who still had misgivings about Piccolo, shrugged. "You look like a green devil that has come to take their children. Especially with that expression," he gestured to Piccolo's clenched jaw.

"Back on Earth, people feared my presence," Piccolo countered coldly, "Though that was back before I died. I suppose I have changed somewhat since."

Sun looked quizzically at him. Before landing on Menagerie, Piccolo had given them a brief rundown of the Saiyan attack on Earth that had resulted in his death and the journey his pupil, Gohan, had taken on Namek. While they had both agreed to his tale, Sun seemed to still be quite curious about the Namekian.

"So, before you died, you looked like something else?"

Piccolo resisted the urge to send him flying. "No, you moron. I meant mentally. Anyway," he called up ahead to Blake, "Where are we going? Didn't you say you were going to speak to your parents something?"

"Yes, I need to discuss matters concerning the White Fang. Why do you care anyway?"

"Because the sooner your business is over, the sooner I can go procure a boat and find Gohan."

Sun suddenly stopped and looked at him suspiciously. "Wait, couldn't you just hop on a boat at the dock and go to him? Why do you need us?"

Piccolo closed his eyes. The thought had crossed his mind many times. At first, he had seemed unsure of the answer. But as he thought about it, it had slowly dawned on him.

"Because by what your friend described, your race is in serious danger of being targeted and wiped out because of the reputation it is accumulating. Recently, I had to watch my entire race be slaughtered by a psychopathic ruler."

"So, what you're saying is that you would feel better if you saved another race from doom," Blake guessed. Piccolo didn't respond, but that was a response in of its own. Sun clapped him on the shoulder, which was a slight reach since Piccolo was over a head taller than him.

"Well that's pretty swell! I guess I underestimated you. You do you have some kindness under that tough guy act. I bet your little buddy would be really proud of you!"

Piccolo shot him a murderous look. "Keep talking and I will show you just how tough I can be."

Sun huffed but backed off. Ahead, Blake slowed for a second until Piccolo was walking beside her.

"That's pretty brave. Following your heart instead of your gut."

Piccolo glanced at her. "Isn't it the other way around?"

A small sad smile played on Blake's lips. "You're not just doing it for yourself. Sun was right. You are doing it because that is what Gohan would want you to do wouldn't it?"

She looked up at his surprised look, knowing she had hit the nail on the head. "I wish I had that type of courage. Recently, I was saved my close friend and teammate while our school was under attack. She lost an arm during the process and I couldn't do anything to help her. Despite my heart telling she would forgive me, my gut told me to run away. I listened to my gut."

Piccolo was dead silent. He got a sudden flashback of jumping in front of Gohan, shielding a massive energy blast with his body. As far as he knew, afterward Gohan had flown into a fit of rage and attacked the Saiyan who had killed his master. Though he was unsuccessful in his attempts, he had not backed down and had almost lost his life once more.

Piccolo smiled. "Hmmph, I was no better before I met Gohan. He was the one that changed me. I believe that boy could change anyone. He will teach you a thing or two about following your heart."

Blake looked a little startled at his surprisingly gentle response. Then she smiled once more. "I wouldn't mind meeting him after this is over. If you are willing to take me."

Before Piccolo could respond, Sun popped in between them. "Hey don't forget me! I want to meet the kid that made mister evil grumpy guy into nice grumpy guy!"

Blake stifled a giggle as Piccolo, fed up with Sun's jokes, grabbed him by his jacket and dumped him into a nearby trash can.

They continued up the path, Sun picking trash out of his hair. They were beginning to reach the edge of the main city and to the quieter side of the faunus island. Here, the houses were a little further apart and the faunus in them a little worse for wear. But their attitude had not changed. They still cheerfully went about their daily business.

"I don't get it Blake," Sun asked after an hour of walking, "Where do your parents live? In a secret place in the woods?"

Blake shook her head and pointed. "No, they live there."

Sun followed her finger and gaped. She was pointing at the mansion seen from the docks.

Piccolo grunted. "Not too shabby."

"I'll say," Sun said breathlessly.

They made their way up the hill, heading towards the mansion. As they did, the landscape changed once more. Here, the houses began to look better made and bigger. Palm trees were planted in strategic spots to give the place a beautifully rich look. Faunus here were better dressed and mannered. But the same cheeriness that was all around the island was in them as well.

After another thirty minutes, they finally reached the mansion. "I don't get it," Sun said as they climbed the steps leading up to the doors, "Why live so far away from all the needs in the city?"

"So, they can pass by all their citizens and see how everyone is doing," Blake replied.

Sun nodded before double-taking. "Wait, their citizens?!"

They were at the doors now. Blake turned to him. "Didn't I tell you? My father was the former leader of the White Fang. After it became violent, he took over as chieftain of Menagerie."

Piccolo coughed impatiently. "Alright that's all well and good but can we get a move on?"

Blake nodded and reached for the large bronze knocker on the door. But as she grabbed it, she hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Sun asked.

Blake suddenly looked scared. "I just… don't know what to say to them… I'm going to be asking them to go against their old organization."

Sun put a hand on her shoulder. "I think they will understand. You're their daughter. They won't say no to you."

"For once I agree with the boy," Piccolo said, "You have a strong case for going up against this organization. Use it."

Blake gave them both grateful looks. Then turned once more and knocked on the door.

A few seconds past as the knocks reverberated in the mansion. Then the trio heard quiet footsteps approach and the door opened revealing a female cat faunus wearing black robes.

"Blake!" Kali Belladonna squealed, throwing her arms around her daughter. Blake returned the hug, smiling.

"Hey mom."

They stayed together for a few moments, enjoying each other's presence. Then they broke apart and Kali began examining Blake.

"Going with a new outfit I see," she said checking out Blake's new tank top and smiling slyly, "Are we trying to impress the boys now?"  
Blake's pale skin flushed red. "Mom!"

Kali just giggled softly, rubbing one of Blake's ears affectionately. Then she noticed Sun and Piccolo standing behind Blake, not interrupting the tender reunion.

"Oh, I see you even brought a boy with you!" Kali said cheerfully approaching Sun and ignoring Blake's stammering, "Good taste to."

Sun rubbed the back of his head awkwardly as Blake buried her face in her hands. "Thanks for the compliment Mrs. B, but I'm not her boyfriend."

Kali tittered. "No need to be so formal. Just call me Kali. And don't worry about Blake, she will come around eventually."

Finally, she turned her attention to Piccolo, still smiling. "Now you are a new face for sure. I don't think I have ever seen somebody like you. I would say you are a faunus, but something tells me I would be wrong."

Piccolo, surprised with pilotless of her approach, responded, "No I'm not a faunus. I'm a Namekian, an alien race unknown to this world."

Kali looked shocked. Then she turned to Blake with an impressed look on her face. "Wow, good boyfriend material and an alien? And you say you're the unsocial type."

Before Blake could painfully respond, a booming voice spoke from inside the mansion. "Kali? Who's at the door?"

Kali cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled back, "Come see for yourself, Ghira!"

Heavy footfalls approached, and a large muscular man appeared from a side hall. When he saw Blake, his face broke into a mighty grin.

"Blake! My beautiful daughter!"

He came forward and hugged her tightly which she returned in kind. As they did so, he saw her companions. He gently let go of Blake and pushed her behind him, glowering at Sun and Piccolo.

"And who might you be, traveling with my daughter," he asked darkly. Sun suddenly shrank back a little, intimidated by the chieftain of Menagerie. Piccolo, however, just looked Ghira up and down, noting his decent energy level in his head.

Before either of them could properly introduce themselves, Kali spoke up. "Well, the cute blonde monkey faunus is Blake's future boyfriend and the green man is an alien called a 'Namekakan'."

As Piccolo muttered the correct pronunciation, Ghira stared down at Sun, scanning him closely.

"Future boyfriend huh?" he said menacingly. Before he could do or say anything else, Blake had decided she had had enough. Running in front of Sun and Piccolo, she faced her parents angry and embarrassed.

"Mom, Dad, this is Sun Wukong. A FRIEND of mine who is helping me. And this is Piccolo, a Namekian, not Namekakan, who is also helping me."

Ghira and Kali exchanged amused looks.

"We're just teasing you honey," Kali said gently, "It's honestly so nice to see you home once more."

"Yes," Ghira agreed, "You don't visit us often enough you know."

Blake fidgeted nervously, apologizing quietly. Ghira just laughed. "I am only kidding! Come, please come. Tell me what you have seen and done and what you need."

The group began to head inside when footsteps on the stone stairs leading to the mansion made them pause. They turned back to see a pair of fox faunus's climbing the stairs. They both wore matching white and red robes and hoods that left holes for ears and tail.

They approached the group and bowed politely. "Chieftain Ghira Belladonna, an honor to be in your presence once more."

Ghira bowed in return. "Corsac and Fennec Albain. What news from the White Fang?"

At the name, Blake and Sun started, pulling their weapons out quickly. Piccolo steadied his feet and grabbed the scruff of his cape, ready to pull it off.

Blake's parents and the two White Fang ambassadors, Corsac and Fennec, were quite startled by the sudden hostility.

"What are you doing," Ghira hissed, clearly unnerved to see her daughter with such an angry look on her face. Kali didn't say anything, but her face was full of concern.

"These bastards attacked Beacon along with the Grimm and Cinder Fall," Blake growled, not taking her eyes off of Corsac and Fennec. Sun nodded coldly.

The two ambassadors had the nerve to look politely offended. They bowed towards Blake.

"Ms. Belladonna, we assure you that-"  
"Shut… Up…" Blake snarled menacingly, raising her weapon, "You killed hundred, no thousands of innocent lives! My friend lost her arm in that attack!"

Corsac was silent. His brother tried to speak but Piccolo interrupted him. "Hmmph your even more despicable than I thought. Maybe taking you all out really is the right thing to do."

His face stared down at the two, a stony expression taking place over his normal serious one. Next to him, Ghira also looked at the brothers.

"Is this true," he asked quietly.

The brothers didn't respond immediately. They exchanged looks that they couldn't quite read. Contempt? Smugness?

Finally, Corsac turned back to the group at large and spoke, his calm and polite voice still present. "Yes, Chieftain Ghira. However, we assure you that it was necessary for the White Fang and all faunus kind."

Ghira stood shocked, unwilling to believe. Kali put her hands over her mouth, wide eyed. Blake just snarled once more and started to advance, Sun along with her. In one swift motion, Piccolo threw off his cape and turban. They fell to the floor a few feet away and crashed down with surprising force, splintering the wood beneath them.

"Enough!" Ghira yelled, getting in between them and the fox faunus's, "I will not have fighting on my front lawn." He turned to the ambassadors. "As for you, I want you to leave now and not come back until you have an official explanation from Supreme High Leader Sienna Khan!"

They bowed deeply once more. "We understand Chieftain. We shall report back to you as soon as we can. For now, we shall bid you adieu." Then they turned and walked down the steps.

When they had left, Piccolo grunted in annoyance and went to retrieve his cape and turban. "Shouldn't have taken them off in the first place. They weren't even remotely worth fighting without them on."

Blake and Sun, their weapons now sheathed but still looking decently angry, stared at the cracked floor where the clothes had been.

"Ummm… what exactly are those made of?" Sun asked tentatively as Piccolo finished dressing himself.

"Normal linen," he responded, "But packed with two hundred kilograms on each shoulder pad and one hundred in the turban."

They all stared at him incredulously. Ghira then laughed. "Well, this an ally worth keeping Blake." Then he began walking inside the mansion calling back, "Come, let us now discuss your plans against the White Fang."

Blake blinked. "How did you know?"

"Judging by the recent encounter, it's safe to assume you have asked us to help fight against the White Fang's violent means. We agree whole heartedly."

Kali nodded grimly, taking her hand and leading her inside, the other two following, Sun asking Piccolo if he could try on the weighted cape.

* * *

A few hundred feet down the road, the White Fang ambassadors walked slowly.

"An interesting turn of events, don't you say brother?" Corsac asked, smirking. Fennec nodded, sharing the same smirk.

"Indeed, though Adam did warn us about the Belladonna's beforehand. Of course, the addition of their daughter will be news for him. I wonder how he will take it."

Before they could continue speculating, Corsac's scroll began ringing. He reached into his pocket and answered. As he listened, his eyes suddenly widened.

"Understood, do not lose faith my brothers," he said, fear in his voice as he hung up. Fennec glanced at him inquisitively. "Everything alright brother?"

Corsac did not look at him. His face had full of concern and fear. "The base… has been attacked."

* * *

The rain poured down heavily on the abandoned village. Lighting boomed in the sky, the thunder almost blocked out by the howling wind. The autumn leaves that had lay peacefully on the ground were now in a whirlwind of orange and black.

Inside a large warehouse, Team RNJR, Gohan, Krillin and Dende were taking shelter from the weather. They had been in there for almost the entire night, getting little sleep from the noise. Instead, they had talked and exchanged stories. The heroes from Earth and Namek were intrigued by Ruby's account of Beacon and saddened by the sudden tragedy that had befallen her and her team. Jaune also described how his beloved and strongest teammate, Pyrrha Nikos, met a terrible fate at the hands of Cinder Fall. The story gave the visitors a reminder of who else was out there now.

When it was their turn to tell their story, they had silently agreed to leave Frieza's name and power out of the account along with the annihilation of an entire race and only told them about the Saiyan attack on Earth, their trip to Namek and how an evil army had tried to stop them. They knew it was wrong, but they couldn't bring themselves to tell their new friends the truth. Ruby had already made it somewhat clear how hard this journey was already. The news of an even more powerful and evil being living somewhere in Remnant that could destroy the planet without so much as a second thought would have probably crushed her spirit.

Now, hours later, they had all tried to find something to preoccupy themselves with while the storm howled on outside. Ren and Nora sat up against the wall, reading a small book. At least, Ren was reading. Nora had taken the opportunity to snuggle close to him under the pretense that she was reading along. Nearby, Ruby and Jaune sparred with their weapons drawn. Ruby had agreed to begin sparring Jaune after he had come to her and asked to help him get stronger. She knew that he was very self-conscious of how much weaker he was than most Huntsman and even blamed himself for Pyrrha's death because of it. But she honestly didn't think Jaunes was as weak as he said. He blocked her strikes quickly and countered at the correct times, causing Ruby to usually jump back a few feet to avoid. His combat training had really begun to pay off.

As for the newcomers, Dende was lying on some blankets, sleeping quietly and soundly through the night despite the noise. The poor guy hadn't gotten much rest since his village had been massacred by Frieza's men. Finally, Gohan and Krillin sat cross-legged facing each other, their eyes shut and concentrating deeply.

There was a loud clang as Ruby's scythe caught Jaune's sword blade. Twisting, Ruby spun her scythe and wrenched it from his grip. It clattered to the ground a few feet away. Jaune tried to dive and get it but Ruby darted in front of the fallen sword and pointed her scythe down at Jaune, grinning triumphantly.

"Nice try Vomit Boy," she said, using his old nickname, "But I get the win."

Jaune chuckled and rose to his feet. Ruby retrieved his sword and handed it back to him, still smiling from her win.

"Man, I don't think I will ever be able to maneuver around that weapon of yours."

"Aww… see Crescent Rose," Ruby said sweetly, hugging her weapon tightly, "You really are the best weapon on Remnant!"

Jaune just shook his head laughing. Then he turned to see Gohan and Krillin still sitting across from each other not moving. Beads of sweat were now trickling down their face and neck.

He was about to ask if they were okay, when suddenly their eyes snapped open and fell slightly back, panting heavily. They both grinned at each other.

"Man Gohan," Krillin said between breaths, "You are seriously getting too good at this. I can barely keep up at this point."

"Thanks, Krillin," Gohan replied happily, "Though that Destructo Disk always catches me off guard!"

A short cough interrupted them, and they looked up to see Ruby and Jaune looking at them quizzically.

"What were you guys doing," Ruby asked curiously, peering down at the sweating two, "You guys were just sitting there but are sweating as if you have run a marathon."  
"Oh we were just doing some image training," Krillin explained, getting to his feet, "We basically link minds and Ki for a little and then spar each other. It's not quite as effective as actual training but it comes in useful when you don't have too much space."

The two just stared at them. They had heard many crazy things already from them, but this just seemed a little too much. Then Ruby got an idea.

"Wait, could you show us your training here? I mean we have space in this warehouse. We will just step to the side and watch you."

Jaune nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's not a bad idea at all. I really want to see how you two fight. It would also help me believe half the things you told us earlier."

To their extreme annoyance, Krillin shook his head. "No, even in this warehouse, our training wouldn't be too effective. We would probably bring the whole building down on top of us by accident."

"I agree with Krillin here," Gohan said, looking apologetically at Ruby, who was giving him an adorable pout.

Ruby persisted for a few more seconds, but Gohan didn't budge. Then she gave an indignant, "Hmmph" and, dragging a surprised Jaune behind her, walked to where Ren and Nora were sitting and sat down.

Gohan and Krillin exchanged a look before deciding to rest for a few hours, the storm outside not seeming to subside.

Just then, they heard loud whimpering in the corner. They turned to see Dende rolling around in his sleep and tears streaking down his face. As they approached him to check what was going, he began to wail despairingly, grabbing the attention of Team RNJR as well.

"No… please don't… please! Brother… BROTHER! DAD! NAIL! NO PLEASE! FRIEZA!"

The cries echoed around the warehouse, doubling the amount of times everyone had to hear it. Then in the far-off distance over the howling storm, a monstrous roar sounded. Team RNJR suddenly sat bolt upright and ran towards Gohan, Krillin and the still sobbing Dende.

"We need to wake him up now!" Ruby said hurriedly to Gohan and Krillin, "His negative emotions are attracting unwanted attention!"

Before Gohan or Krillin could object, the roar bellowed once more, much closer than before. Ren sped up and kneeled next to Dende.

"No time for that Ruby, I will just use my Semblance to mask his emotions."

Ren put his hand gently on Dende and focused deeply. A grayness befell them both until they looked like characters from a black and white film. The others stood silently, watching Ren work while listening for the sound of their visitor. All they heard was the rain and wind battering the warehouse.

"Phew," Nora said wiping her brow, "Thank god we avoided that crisis."

Unfortunately, she spoke too soon. Dende once more stirred. The he suddenly shot up, wide awake and his face slack with fear and grief. Gohan had a second to recognize the look as the one he had when Frieza's men had murdered his brother and father in front of his very eyes. Then Dende screamed a guttural cry of anguish, breaking through the mask that Ren had created.

"Calm down!" he urged him, trying to reactivate his Semblance over him once more. But this time it was too late.

A massive black paw smashed through the wall behind Ren, punching him with the force of a battering ram. His aura flickered dangerously as he flew across the warehouse and collapsed. Then the wall was broken down completely, revealing a black bear like creature with white bone like spikes and a head like a skull. Its red eyes bore down on the company, devoid of remorse or feeling. It gave a mighty below, drowning out the storm now pouring rain through the opening the Grimm had created.

"REN!" Nora shrieked, charging towards his crumpled body.

"An Ursa!" Jaune yelled, unsheathing his sword. Beside him Ruby brought out her scythe, her silver eyes burning with anger.

The Ursa roared, bearing down on the small huddled green figure at its feet. However, before it could take another step, a small speeding person launched itself straight at its armored stomach. While that happened, another rapid person leapt down, grabbed Dende, and jumped away quickly. The Ursa groaned, doubling over and trying to grasp the thing that had attacked it. However, the person just jumped back from it and Ruby and Jaune saw who it was.

Gohan, looking determined, had propelled himself forward and given the Ursa a powerful kick in the stomach. The attack had been so quick that the two Huntsmen had not been able to see Gohan in the process.

The Ursa struggled to rise, but the kick had incapacitated it too much and all it could manage was a weak wobble before falling back down. At its feet, Dende had vanished. He was now a few yards to the right, being held by Krillin who turned to look at Gohan, nodding. Gohan got the message. He once more jumped up, this time up to the face of the Ursa and side kicked him into the other side of the warehouse. Team RNJR watched, dumbfounded as the massive Grimm flew in midair into the wall and collapsed to the floor. Before the debris had fully fallen from the smashed wall, the Ursa dissolved into black mist.

Silence fell upon the group. Even the storm had settled during the short fight, leaving only a light breeze flowing through the open holes in the warehouse. Then a groan echoed as Ren returned to consciousness.

"What… happened?" he asked groggily, letting Nora help him sit up.

"Gohan and Krillin happened that's what," Nora said, still staring at the two in awe. The two in question had reconvened after the fight, giving each other a small high five before checking on Dende.

"Ruby, Jaune did you see their moves?" Nora began asking excitedly, "They were so fast and so strong! It was incredible!"

Ruby and Jaune did not respond. They were staring at the trio, watching as Dende nodded at something Gohan had asked still looking visibly shaken but unharmed. While they were significantly impressed with the skills they had showed off in battle, something had begun to nag them. They both exchanged a quick look, agreed silently and approached the group. They stopped muttering when they saw their approach and smiled.

"Sorry we didn't let you get a chance to get a hit off the big guy," Krillin said sheepishly, though also looking a little smug, "But at least you got to see our fighting."

Dende bowed in apology. "I apologize for my actions. I remember you said in your story that there are creatures in this world that feed off of negative emotions. I presume that was one of them?"

They nodded, but they weren't looking at Dende. They were staring at Gohan and Krillin, their expression unusually hard. Gohan, a little nervous by the looks asked kindly, "Everything okay?"

"You lied to us, didn't you?" Jaune said quietly. Behind them Nora and Ren came, the latter being supported. They stopped once they heard the words.

Gohan didn't respond, gulping. Krillin, sweating slightly, tried to laugh off the comment. "Lie to you? Of course not. We would not-"

"Then what was that about a brother? Father? Nail?" Ruby asked, her usual cheerful demeanor gone, replaced by a hurt and angry one. Her silver eyes were fixed on Krillin and despite his many encounters with far more powerful enemies, he was still unnerved by the girls look.

"Umm… well… ummm," he stammered, unable to string a sentence together. Dende looked down at the ground in sad silence.

Jaune now stormed up towards Krillin, poking him hard in the chest. "We trusted you to tell us your story and your purpose! We told you ours in full and left nothing out! And now we learn you kept something from us, despite us agreeing to be honest with each other?!"

Krillin was silent, his face suddenly very somber. Gohan tried to go over to Jaune and tell him to calm down, when a red scythe and silver hammer blocked his path. Ruby and Nora glared down at him, uncaring of his age. What did it matter what his age was? He had just displayed he was much stronger than them, taking out an Ursa single handedly.

As Gohan stared into their eyes, Ruby posed the question they had most feared. The question that once asked, had to be answered honestly.

"Who is Frieza?"

The trio flinched uncontrollably. But there was now no other choice. Still at the point of their weapons, Gohan began to describe their journey on Namek once more. However, this time he included the brutality of the Frieza Army and how they had massacred the entire native species besides Dende, who had watched his family being slain in front of his own eyes. He explained Frieza's immense power and how he had been transported along with them and was now roaming Remnant, probably in search of them.

As he retold the story, the young Huntsmen began to lose their hostility, replacing it with sudden horror and understanding. No wonder they had kept it a secret! The very concept of this Lord Frieza was enough to make Cinder look like a cute innocent poodle. His actions made the White Fang seem charitable and the events he caused made the battle of Beacon look like a positively joyous occasion.

Once Gohan finished, they lowered their weapons, shaking with fear. Krillin nodded sadly, noting their reactions. Dende did not do anything besides stare at the ground, thinking about his deceased family.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ruby said in a hollow voice, "I'm sorry Dende. We shouldn't have pried."

Dende shook his head, murmuring a "it's fine" under his breath. Next to Ruby, Jaune's sword fell to the ground with a clatter as he put his hands on his head, a crazed panicked look sweeping his face.

"I can't. I just can't believe it… Another superpowered enemy. Except this one… can demolish planets."

He seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown. Then, a calm voice spoke from behind them.

"Let's all calm done. We don't want to attract more Grimm."

Ren sat up, still visibly injured. Nora steadied him, and he gave her a grateful look before turning back to his companions. "I think now that we know the whole story, we can really see these guys in a new light. It would also explain the power that Nora described to me when they fought the Ursa." He looked at Jaune directly. "And, we mustn't freak out. We have our own journey to complete and completing it may give us some help with our new enemies along with our current ones."

His calm, rational words washed over the group like a warm breeze. Jaune relaxed his breathing, picking up his sword and sheathing it. Ruby nodded, her horrified expression leaving her. Gohan and Krillin smiled gratefully at Ren. Even Dende gave Ren a weak smile, before it suddenly melted replaced by guilt, and he ran over to him and Nora.

"Here," he said gently, standing beside Ren and raising his small green hands over him. A light began to glow under them, flowing over Ren in a colorful shimmer. His body flashed green for a few seconds before all the light faded and Dende stepped back. Ren stood up, his aura and body completely healed.

"I forgot to mention I can fully heal people," Dende said as Team RNJR looked at him, astounded at Ren's recovery, "If you ever get hurt, I can always heal you."

Ren nodded appreciatively, thanking Dende for the service. Meanwhile, Gohan walked up to Ruby and Jaune, still looking very apologetic.

"I'm sorry we lied to you," he said, unable to look at them, "We thought it would terrify you, so we decided to keep quiet. But that was unfair of us to insult your trust and underestimate your courage, if you would not like to be allies anymore, I will understand, and I think Krillin will to."

The monk nodded, also not able to look at them. There was a short silence. Then Gohan felt a hand ruffle his hair. He glanced up to see Ruby smiling down at him.

"Of course we want you as allies. We won't hold your judgement against you. Besides your skills can come in handy." She winked mischievously and Gohan chuckled, happy with the return of the happy atmosphere.

It was then that they all realized that the storm that forced them inside the warehouse in the first place had gone and just over the horizon, the sun had begun to rise. With no intention of staying in that place any longer, they packed their few belongings and began down the path away from the village, making sure to take the right turn at the crossroads. As they walked, they chatted, laughed and generally had a good time, not thinking about Frieza, Cinder or any other negative prospects. For now, they just enjoyed each other's company as they made their way steadily to Mistral, not noticing a jet-black crow perched on a tree close by, watching them closely.

* * *

"We are finally here!" Bulma said, jumping with joy as they set foot on the small train station. Oscar grinned at her excitement, happy to have arrived as well. After morning had dawned, they had packed up and started off once more, not talking too much during the last thirteen hours to the station. This hadn't been because of ill will but due to a heavy fog that had set around them, making the air seem heavy and causing them to feel drowsy despite a decent night's sleep. Even Ozpin had been mostly quiet, unable to supply much useful information at the time.

The area around the train station would have been beautiful to look at, if it had not been swamped by the fog. On clear days, a gorgeous line of trees would stand on the other side of the tracks, all sporting different colored leaves and creating a sort of autumn rainbow. In the distance, large white capped mountains would have been seen, towering over the forest. Behind them, their destination lay just out of sight, seemingly close but in reality, quite far with the mountain range blocking the direct route.

Oscar glanced at a blue screen, looking for their train.

"Perfect," he said pointing at the screen, "There is a train just five minutes away that will take us to the city of Mistral."

Bulma smiled broadly, encouraged by the good news. "Now all we need are tickets."

Oscar nodded, walking over to the ticket machine. From his pocket, he took out a small blue credit card, pressing a few things on the screen of the machine. Then he tapped the card on a magnetic surface that served as a transaction. On the screen, a red sign suddenly appeared. "Error. Insufficient Funds."

Oscar's and Bulma's smiles evaporated on the spot.

"You can't be serious," Bulma croaked, staring at the words in disbelief, "Of all the things to stop me, it's lack of money?!"

Oscar, remembering that Bulma was part of a rich family in her world, did not miss out on the cruel irony. For him, this was something that would happen every once in a while, when he tried to use his minimal allowance on something and forgot it was already all spent. Now though, he wished that he had not spent his allowance on a new trowel he had gotten to help him tend the garden on the farm.

As they tried to think of a solution, they heard hurried footsteps. The turned to see a large man jogging towards them. He passed them without glancing at them, but Oscar heard him mutter something strange.

"Late for that meeting with Sienna Khan, must hurry and reach the transportation portal set up for me."

He lumbered along a few paces, ignoring an approaching train and turned suddenly into the forest and disappeared. The two just stared after him in bewilderment, unsure of what to make of the situation. However, in Oscar's head, Ozpin stirred uncomfortably.

Then they noticed the approaching train stop next to them. It was an old-fashioned steam engine with only one passenger cart trailing it.  
"Crap!" Bulma shrieked, "We still don't have tickets!"

Oscar, who had still been distracted by the man, snapped out his daze and tried banging the ticket machine with his fist. As he expected however, the action proved quite futile.

"Well," he said to Bulma and in extension to Ozpin, "I guess that's that. I have already failed due to money."

Ozpin was about to try and convince him there must be other ways and giving up is not an option, when Bulma suddenly spoke, her voice confident.

"Don't say that so soon. You have me!"

Out of her jacket pocket, she pulled out a screwdriver and a few wires and began working on the ticket machine. Oscar watched spellbound as she removed the cover of the ticket machine, exposing all the chips and wires underneath. She began to note each wire carefully, making mental calculations, before grabbing some wire cutters from her pocket and snipping a few. The machine seemed to go dark for a second, but Bulma didn't seem to care. She attached her own wires to the cut parts and began expertly redirecting them to another spot. Once complete, she screwed the cover back on and then walked to the back of the machine. She pushed the manual "ON" button and Oscar saw the screen light up.

"Try it again, select what you want."

Oscar did so, choosing tickets to the city of Mistral for two, confused on what would change. The moment he had confirmed the options, the machine gave a low whirring sound before ejecting two small paper tickets into a small hatch. Oscar and Ozpin stared in disbelief at the tickets as Bulma walked back around, grinning triumphantly.

"Neat huh? I just did a bit of redirecting in the machine. I took the wires and made them skip over the function that asks for payment and just programed them to give us what we wanted."

Oscar, understanding about half of what she said, nodded dumbly while grabbing the tickets. He was about to ask if what they had done was illegal when the train whistle sounded behind them.

"Quick let's get on before it leaves," Bulma urged. She grabbed his hand and sprinted on board the carriage. Just seconds after they entered, the doors shut and a metal clicking sound told them it was locked. They sat down in a simple booth with nothing but a metal ashtray in the middle, panting in relief as below their feet, the carriage shook slightly and began to move along with the train.

"So," Bulma said after a few minutes once they had recovered from the close shave, "How long is the ride?"

Oscar had no idea, but Ozpin gave him an answer. "Apparently, it's a day and a half."

Bulma's mouth dropped open. "A day and a half!? On this tiny carriage?" Her head swelled slowly and she looked like she was about to burst into angry complaining. But then she just sighed deeply and lay back in her side of the booth.

"Guess there's nothing to do about it. At least we got on."

"Yeah," Oscar said, "Thanks to your skills. That was amazing!"

Bulma winked, her face growing a little smug. "I did tell you I was a brilliant inventor and engineer. That machine was just child's play! It just took me a second to realize because I was so caught up by the fact money tried to stop me for once."

They laughed heartily, watching the trees speed by through the window. Oscar was actually beginning to feel quite good with himself and beginning to truly accept his journey for Ozpin when Bulma posed him another question.

"I have been noticing whenever you answer a question of mine about something in this world, you usually say 'apparently'. Is that just a habit of yours or do you get your info from someone else like a friend?"

Oscar's breath caught. He hadn't realized that he had been doing that but now she mentioned it, he found it to be accurate. Just this morning, as they had walked to the train station, Bulma had asked him a few questions he hadn't known, and Ozpin had supplied an answer. He would then tell Bulma what Ozpin had said, but not before unconsciously saying "apparently".

In his mind Ozpin also tensed up. "Do not say anything," he ordered, his voice suddenly hard and stern, "We don't want to complicate things in with this new ally."  
"Yeah sorry, apparently just a bit of a habit," he said, adding another one just to try and sell the lie. He was worried that Bulma, being as smart as she was, would not buy it and demand to know the truth. To his and Ozpins great relief, she just nodded.

"I guess that isn't too strange. Everyone has their little quirks. By the way, who do you think that guy was who passed us was? I don't know why, but he gave me the creeps."

Oscar didn't answer. In his mind however, he silently asked Ozpin the same question. The wise voice sighed, a pit of pain in his voice.

"He is someone from my past. Someone who has a grudge against me in particular and is not to be taken lightly." Then, before Oscar could do anything, he added quickly, "Don't tell her this. It would be odd for you to know this information."

"I have no idea," Oscar said, following Ozpins instructions, "But I do agree he had some weird vibe to him."

They sat silently, contemplating the mysterious man. Then Bulma got up and took the ashtrays from lying on all the other booths and brought them to their table, dropping them next to the one they had. Then she grinned up at Oscar.

"Want to see what I can do with just ashtrays?"

Oscar grinned back eagerly. "You bet I do."

As the train rode on, Bulma began working on the ashtrays, making them into small contraptions as Oscar watched, bringing entertainment and laughter for the long trip ahead.

* * *

At the White Fang's base, upon her throne in a regal hall lined with tall foreboding guards, the Supreme High Leader Sienna Khan looked quite displeased. Next to her, the red haired bull faunus, Adam Taurus stood, pleading with her.

"Look your ladyship," he said imploringly, "This meeting I have arranged is of the upmost importance. I understand you are annoyed that it was pushed back. I am as well. But for the good of the faunus, please trust me."

Sienna looked at him, her orange eyes piercing him. "Is that so Adam? Tell me, what was the last good thing that came out of interacting with the forces of Salem? Because all I remember is that hatred for the faunus is at an all-time high after the battle at Beacon. Not to mention, you continue to send small militia groups out to small villages, massacring the humans and bringing back the faunus as potential members."

Adam looked taken aback. "How is that last one a bad thing? We are beefing up our forces while keeping the humans in fear."

Sienna sighed in exasperation. "See? There's your problem! You are so inclined to plant fear into humans that you don't understand that it is not helping our cause. In fact, it's probably ruining it."

"But, ruling by fear is the best way to get through to those scum!" Adam countered, beginning to grow angry, "If we give them something to fear, they will be more likely to follow our demands! You understood that yourself High Leader when we planned the attack on Beacon."

Sienna stood up, grabbing the hilt of her whip. "And that was a massive mistake! Using some violence is necessary, I agree. But massacring humans for the sake of causing wide-spread panic does not cause the desired effect! I learned this when I heard faunus around the four kingdoms are being prosecuted and tortured at an even higher rate."

Adam reached for his katana and it seemed that a heated fight would commence between the two faunus when, suddenly, a loud commotion outside drew their attention away from each other. Explosions boomed every few seconds, permeated by the screams of faunus.

The massive double doors leading to the throne room burst open and a White Fang grunt stumbled in. The left part of his face along with his left arm were covered in bright crimson blood. His eyes were dilated in sheer terror as he stumbled forward towards the throne. The guards lining the walls step forward to intercept him, but Sienna raised his hand signaling for him to pass as she ran down the steps leading to the throne and sped to meet the injured grunt.

"What is going!" she demanded once she reached him and grabbing his face. He spluttered incoherently, blood trickling down his mouth.

"An intruder!" he gasped weakly.

Adam appeared alongside Sienna, momentarily forgetting his anger with the high leader. "What! Who?!"  
"Oh, that would be me," a calm voice said.

The two looked up just in time to jump away as a purple beam of energy flew towards them. It pierced the White Fang grunt through the heart and kept traveling the length of the room before hitting the stairs to the throne, destroying them in a small explosion.

The grunt fell to the floor, lifelessly laying in a growing pool of blood. However, none of the other faunus in the room were looking at him. They were all looking at a figure standing at the entrance of the room, flanked by a few White Fang guards. Sienna Khan and Adam Taurus stared in shock and anger as Lord Frieza curled his lips into an evil smile and stepped into the room.

 **The stakes are growing higher as Frieza makes his move on the world of Remnant. Will his hunger for an army get passed the faunus pride of Sienna Khan and Adam Taurus? And will our heroes be able to plan a resistance to stop his evil plot? Find out next time on Dragon Ball R!**

 **Authors Note: Quick note at the end. I just wanted to clear up a few things for you guys. Blake's motivation for going to Menagerie has been altered a little for the purposes of the story. Along with this, I want to apologize for the shorter Oscar and Bulma segments. Their time will come soon, I promise. That's all, just wanted to clear a few things up quickly. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will see you next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: Hello everybody and welcome back to another chapter of Dragon Ball R! As always, I really appreciate the reviews you leave, and I am always happy to try and make the story the best reading experience for you guys. This time, I would like to thank the people who have been showing their support for the series. It really makes my day to know you guys are liking it. I don't have much more than that to say so please leave any comments, suggestions, advice or criticism you may have and without further ado lets jump right back into the action.**

 **Last time on Dragon Ball R, Lord Frieza has found himself in the White Fang base, on the brink of a mass takeover. Meanwhile, Team RNJR, Weiss, Blake and Yang have all been exposed to the power gap between them and their new friends. However, they still have no idea just how much of gap there is between them and the terrifying Lord Frieza. Is there any chance for them to get strong enough to even challenge the emperor? Today: The New Frieza Force?! Goku's Big Mistake!**

* * *

Supreme High Leader Sienna Khan and Adam Taurus stared in shock as Lord Frieza began to stroll through the throne room, regarding it with a small satisfied grin on his face. Behind him, a group of about ten heavily armed White Fang members followed him dutifully, not meeting their eyes.

"Not bad," Frieza said, "I could get used to a throne room such as this. Of course, I will do away with those hideous banners but besides that I dare say I have found my new home."

He kept walking, approaching the stunned White Fang leaders. As he got within twenty feet of them, the guards lining the wall sprang into action and stood in front of Sienna and Adam, barring Frieza's path. They all leveled their spears at him, determined to not let this monster pass.

"Oh?" Frieza said, regarding the resistance coolly, "I did not expect this. Many usually run away in terror as I approach but you seem to be hardwired to protect your masters." He then smiled cruelly once more, his red eyes flashing.

He snapped his fingers and behind him, the White Fang members behind him raised their weapons and opened fire on the guards. Usually, the guards would have easily dispatched of such grunts, but the attack had been so sudden, they did not have time to brace their auras for the onslaught. As a result, the guards were all brutally gunned down in front of the grinning tyrant, leaving Sienna and Adam alone with him, his men and two dozen dead faunus around them.

"Good work men," Frieza said eloquently, "Of course, now the room is all dirty with their blood."

Without looking behind, him, he pointed his finger behind him and fired a purple beam towards his men. It caught one in the stomach and the poor soldier burst into a small explosion of energy and guts. Around him, his fellow troops backed away in alarm and terror.

"Next time do a neater job," Frieza said coldly, still not turning around. The faunus all fell to their knees and whimpered for forgiveness. Frieza ignored this and bore down on Sienna and Adam, stepping over the dead guards.

"Now that that's sorted with," Frieza said to the two, his diplomatic voice coming back, "I presume you are the leaders of this group of misfits?"

Adam just trembled, stepping back instinctually from the advancing tyrant. Sienna however, straightened up and stared right back at Frieza, her eyes full of absolute rage.

"Yes, I am," she growled, "I am Supreme High Leader of the White Fang Sienna Khan and you have just murdered a whole group of innocent faunus in cold blood!"

Frieza just laughed heartily in response to her accusation. Sienna's fists tightened, and she roared in anger, charging the laughing psychopath, her whip drawn. She poured all her aura into a mighty downward strike upon Frieza's head that could have reduced an entire house to rubble. The whip struck its target with a resounding "CLANG" and below Frieza's feet, the floor cracked. Behind him, the White Fang members were blown back by the sheer force and aura that Sienna was exerting and even Adam had to shield his face from the impact.

Sienna panted heavily, looking down at Frieza to see what her attack had done. To her horror, her whip was now broken. When it had collided with Frieza's head, it had simply broken on impact, doing absolutely nothing to the emperor.

Now he looked up at Sienna's suspended figure, his lip curling into a malicious sneer. Before Sienna could land or jump back, Frieza's arm shot out and his fingers closed tightly around her throat. She chocked painfully as he brought her face eyelevel to his. She looked into his red merciless eyes and knew that her fate was decided.

"Now, was that really worth the effort?" he said at length, his eyes boring into hers, "All you have successfully done is crack the floor of my new throne room which…," his fingers suddenly tightened around her and she screamed internally, "Makes me quite upset."

His smile disintegrated off his face. He raised his other hand and took off his scouter. Before Sienna could even process what he was doing, his eyes flashed blindingly, and her vision and mind went dark.

Adam stared, his blood turning ice cold as he watched Frieza shoot two energy beams out of his eyes into Sienna's own eyes, piercing through completely and coming out the back of her skull. He choked back a rising flow of bile as Sienna's now eyeless head flopped limply to one side, looking at him.

Frieza smirked at his handy work and turning to one of his men, tossed the corpse at him. "Take her away and out of my sight," he ordered.

The faunus nodded immediately and carried the Supreme High Leader out of the room.

Frieza now turned to the shivering figure that was Adam Taurus and approached. But before he even went forward two steps, Adam flung himself before him begging pathetically.  
"Please! Don't kill me please! I will serve you loyally! Just please don't kill me!"

The tyrant regarded the kneeling figure before him, quite uncaring of his pleas. He was about to order his immediate execution, but then paused. One big problem he still had was his ignorance of the world he lived in. It would be useful to have somebody that knew the world well and inform him on how it worked. Or at least, how it currently worked. It would become moot soon enough once he took over himself.

He smiled down at Adam. "Well, well, you do know your place. What is your name boy?"

"Adam Taurus, my lord," Adam replied, trying to keep his voice calm but it still came off more shrill than normal.

"Well Adam, my name is Lord Frieza," Frieza introduced himself, doing his mocking bow, "And I have decided to spare your miserable life to advise me on the workings of this world."

Still groveling at Frieza's feet, Adam responded, "Thank you, merciful lord. Thank you!"

Frieza snickered, looking down at Adam's pitiful form in contempt. Then he walked down the length of the throne room and sat down in the still intact throne, facing the others in the room.

"Not a bad seat," he said, critically moving around in the throne. Then he settled on a spot and glared down at Adam, still kneeling on the floor.

"Adam!" he barked, bringing the bull faunus to attention, "I need you to round up every soldier that is part of this organization and bring them here!" Then he saw the cracks and blood around the room and added, "And bring some competent laborers! I want this throne room clean by the end of the day or your blood will also be cleaned off the walls!"

"Yes, my lord!" Adam said, nodding his head frantically and bolting for the door. Just as he was about to exit, he ran into another, much larger, running figure. He fell back, looking up to see Hazel standing above him, staring in horror at the throne room.

"What happened here Taurus?!" he asked, picking up Adam by the scruff of his robes. Before Adam could respond, he noticed Frieza sitting on the throne, his cruel eyes now fixed on him. Hazel's mouth went dry and his eyes widened as his body shivered, washed in icy terror. It was a feeling quite unfamiliar to the servant of Salem, but after his brief encounter with Frieza through the Seer, he had learned the true meaning of fear. Now, it was flowing through him like a virus.

"Fri-Frieza…," he croaked, barely audible.

He dropped Adam and turned to run, but suddenly felt himself paralyzed by some kind of energy. He looked at himself and saw that his body was outlined in purple energy. He looked at Frieza across the room to see his arm outstretched towards him. Then he flicked his finger towards himself and Hazel felt himself fly towards Frieza at high speeds. He stopped right in front of Frieza, suspended in front of the now cackling emperor.

"Why, look what the cat dragged in," Frieza mocked, grinning manically at Hazel, "I don't know who you are, but you sure are quite the beast of a man." He pressed the button on his scouter and read his power level, snorting derisively at the reading.

"Of course, you are still nothing to concern myself with in terms of power. I guess you are just a lonely fool who has had the misfortune to walk in here," he gave Hazel a devilish glare, "Unfortunately for you, that's punishable by a painful death."

For Hazel's part, he suddenly internally sighed in relief. Frieza had not recognized him. Of course he hadn't. He had not been in sight during the encounter in which Frieza had invaded their meeting. He had also not said anything, meaning that Frieza could not recognize him through his voice. If he had to die, he would gladly do so knowing that he had not given the psychotic bastard any information on Salem.

"Adam," Frieza suddenly called out snapping Hazel out of his thoughts, "Didn't this fool recognize you?"

Adam, still a bit dazed from being manhandled by Hazel, got up and nodded towards Frieza, bowing in the process.

"Well don't just stand there," Frieza spat, "Get over here now and tell me what you know of him!"

Hazel tried to turn his head frantically to see Adam, but the paralysis kept him still. In his mind, his panic was rising fast. Adam knew all about him and Salem after he had pledged allegiance to her. Now, with the likes of Frieza controlling him, the chances of him spilling the information…

Hazel finally saw Adam walk within is line of sight and saw with the terror of doom that his earlier wishful thinking was hopeless. He saw the absolute terror and fear in Adam, devoted to keep himself alive from his new master, not daring to anger him in any way.

Adam reached Frieza's side and stood at attention, bowing deeply. Frieza regarded this act coolly, before seeming to approve. Then he called out to one of his remaining men still in the throne room.

"You! Go do what I ordered Adam to do!"

The men bowed and ran off quickly. Now Frieza turned his attention to Adam, and Hazel saw the cruel smile he had seen through the Seer at that meeting and knew with a horrible certainty that he was done for.

* * *

It had been a few days since the arrival of Prince Vegeta at the Xiao Long household. The effects were noticeable to say the least.

It wasn't all negative. Vegeta had, reluctantly, helped out a little with the reconstruction of the house by bringing raw materials such as wood by felling massive trees. While he did not actively take part in the actual rebuilding of the house, he barked at Tai and Yang every once in a while, when they did something wrong. At first, they would be annoyed with this interruption, not to mention irritated by the usual rudeness of it. But overtime, they found it surprisingly helpful as every time he did yell at them, he was usually right, helping them avoid a big mistake.

Training with Vegeta had also improved, but not by too much. He had not let up in the slightest since the first day and was determined to make Yang push through every bit of stamina and aura she had in her. This wasn't too hard since Yang usually did so within the first two exercises and only continued due to sheer willpower and strategic breaks where she recovered as much strength as she could.

However, she was beginning to worry about the strain this was having on her aura. It was recovering slower by the day, not being at full since after the first day due to Vegeta not letting her rest for more than a day. She had heard of Huntsmen losing their aura completely due to strain and she was sure that if this kept up the way it did, she would surely lose it as well. Of course, saying this to Vegeta wasn't going to help though. He already thought the notion of aura as disgraceful and would probably encourage the prospect of it being broken from the strain.

But it wasn't all bad either. Yang was physically feeling much stronger just after a couple of days training, slowing beginning to complete the exercises in slightly shorter time. Now, she was able to reach the combat portion without completely falling on her butt after her first weak and pitiful attempt at a punch. She still wasn't able to hit Vegeta, but she had once dodged one of his counters, only to be knocked out cold by a second counter.

Now it was early morning of the fourth day. Yang woke up earlier than usual, which was quite early these days, and walked down to the shed they owned next to the house. It was nothing special, just a small square wooden shack with tools for gardening and construction. But it was also one of her favorite places on the planet. It was her workshop.

Standing in the middle of the shack was her tinkering object and her pride and joy. A yellow and black motorcycle, christened Bumblebee by Yang. She would spend hours upon hours on this bike, tinkering with the engines, making sure the wheels were top notch and trying out different color schemes to see which one worked best. She was by no means an expert engineer, but motorcycles were something she understood.

However, today, she bypassed Bumblebee, instead approaching a small work bench where her current project was resting on. Her old yellow shotgun gauntlets.

Yang instinctively put her left hand over her right, feeling the smooth metal that it was now. She knew what had to be done, though she hated the prospect of doing it. But she sucked up her courage and grabbed the gauntlet for her right arm and placing it into a box. She closed it quickly, trying to keep the tears from her eyes and locked it. Then she placed it on a shelf and turned away, wiping her eyes.

She turned back to the left gauntlet, still laying on the desk. Slowly and deliberately, she unattached her right metallic arm and laid it beside the gauntlet. She was about to get to work, when a sharp voice cut through the quiet morning.

"What are you doing here girl?"

Yang jumped back in alarm, whirling around with her left fist raised to see Vegeta leaning against the shed door with his arms crossed. His expression was cold and calculated, staring at Yang coolly.

"Just tinkering with stuff," Yang replied, recovering from her shock, "Is it time to start?"

Vegeta didn't respond. His eyes traveled around the shed, looking at all the tools and equipment. It rested for a second on Bumblebee, before settling on the metallic arm and shotgun gauntlet lying on the workbench.

"It seems to me you're getting ready for something," he said suddenly. He turned his dark gaze back at Yang, scanning her. "Where do you think you are off to in such a hurry?"

Despite herself, Yang smarted under his cool gaze. She gritted her teeth and re-attached her right arm.

"Nowhere," she growled, making her way out, "Absolutely nowhere."

She was stopped by a powerful arm, holding her back from leaving. She turned to see Vegeta glowering at her, face stormy.

"Don't insult my intelligence girl," he snarled, "Or it will be the last mistake you ever make. Now tell me where you were planning to run off to."

Yang wrenched her arm from his grip, angry at his intrusion and angry at his attitude. In fact, anger that had been slowly accumulating from being subject to his harsh training, words, and treatment of both her and her dad began to boil to the surface.

"None of your damn business," she snarled back, walking back to her house.

She hadn't taken two steps before she felt a sudden impact on the back of her head with such force, that she temporarily blacked out. When she came to, she found herself face first in dirt, her aura shattered, and her face scratched after skidding almost thirty feet through hard dirt. She was so groggy from the hit, she barely heard the footsteps behind her and barely felt the foot press on the small of her back. Then she heard Vegeta's angry voice, fuzzy from her grogginess.

"I train you! I help you rebuild your pathetic dump you call a home! And you treat me with such disrespect? The Prince of all Saiyans?!"

He pressed harder and she choked out a scream of pain as she felt her spine beginning to bend dangerously. Then she felt the pressure subside, only to be followed by a hard kick to her side, rolling her a few feet where she lay flat on her back, gulping down her searing pain.

Vegeta entered her line of sight, looking down at her, his face contorted into rage.

"I should kill you for your insolence," he spat, "However, you are unfortunately one of my only links to this world, if not the only. Your father is nothing but a retired bum, wasting his potential by tending his house like a common housewife! So, it falls to you."

His anger lessened slightly, replaced by grudging respect. "You on the other hand, are willing to tap into your potential. A potential that could make you powerful beyond your wildest dreams. But," and here his anger returned in full, "If you continue to disrespect and disappoint me, I will not hesitate to end your life and your fathers for that matter."

He waited for a response, but Yang was still too dazed to do so. After a few seconds, he leaned down and whispered, an edge of warning in his voice. "Now, tell me where you were planning to go in the middle of your training, girl."

"To… my… sister…," Yang croaked. Then she closed her eyes and fell into deep unconsciousness.

* * *

To Blake, this must have been one of the strangest family tea times of all time.

The five of them sat cross legged on comfy pillows around a small tea table. On the table, a small tray held a tea kettle and little cups, which Kali filled up one by one and passed around. To her right, her massive husband looked quite comical, trying to make his bulk seem less conspicuous even though he towered over the small table. On his right, Sun accepted a tea cup from Kali, holding it with his yellow tail and lifting it up to his mouth. Next to him, Piccolo just sat, quietly declining a cup of tea. Finally, Blake sat, suddenly very aware of how uncomfortable this meeting was.

Now, she didn't even know how to start. She had planned a strategy about bringing up the subject of stopping the White Fang to her parents. But after the encounter with Corsac and Fennec and with her company of Sun and Piccolo, she was drawing a complete blank on how to begin the conversation. Before she could fill in the blank, her father turned to Piccolo.

"Tell me," he asked gruffly, "How do you wear that cape and turban without screaming in pain all the time?"

Kali said in a surprisingly stern voice, "Now dear."

Ghira glanced at her, a mixture of fear and annoyance crossing over his face. "What!? I am just asking him a simple question."

Kali raised her eyebrows. "Not because your incredibly jealous that you can only wear ten-kilogram weights on your arms and ankles?"

Now Ghira looked annoyed. He hissed, "Don't say that out loud!"

The two seemed to be about to dive into a heated argument when Piccolo cleared his throat, drawing their attention.

"To answer your question, I have trained under extreme conditions such as ten times gravity while wearing even heavier weights. I only wear these just to make sure I can sustain straight posture under pressure."

Ghira, his mouth agape, was about to ask another question when Piccolo interrupted curtly. "Now, your daughter has come here to talk to you about business concerning the organization that those ingrates that just came come from. Let us turn to that subject, shall we?"

"Sorry Mr. and Mrs. B," Sun said, smiling behind his cup of tea, "Our friend here isn't a fan of small talk."

Piccolo growled threateningly, and Blake decided to take Piccolo's incentive and turn the conversation to the main topic before a fight broke out.

"So, mom, dad," she said, a bit forcefully to grab everyone's attention, "As you heard earlier, the White Fang have changed significantly since you guys have left. They have changed to a violent organization led by Adam. He wants to see the world of humans burn and replace them all with faunus. He is taking the ideals we set up originally for the White Fang and taking it to the extreme, using them to meld them into his own twisted ways."

She let that hang, not realizing she was scowling deeply until Kali put a soothing hand on her shoulder. Her dad scratched his chin, deep in thought.

"Wait, isn't Sienna Khan still the Supreme High Leader? Why would Adam be allowed to do all these things if she is there to rein him in?"

Blake was about to answer when her mother suddenly interjected. "Ghira. Do you remember Sienna? Because the way I remember her, she was just as ready to see humans burn as Adam was. She actually took him in under her wing after you scolded him for being too violent."

"Besides," Piccolo grunted, "though I don't know much about either of them, in fact, I have never met them. But I know how manipulation works and by what I have heard about this Adam person and the purpose of the organization itself, I can tell that he probably did a lot of persuading and promising to this Sienna to order these attacks."

Blake nodded, thankful for the support. Sun then spoke up. "So, if Sienna is being fooled into thinking what Adam is doing is a good idea, couldn't we just snap her out of it and make her fire Adam. I mean, you used to be the leader of the White Fang," he gestured to Ghira, "I presume you still have some access to it."

Ghira grimaced. "Your plan makes sense except for the fact that, as my wife has reminded me, Sienna was never against violence in the first place. If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if she and Adam came up with this plot together."

They all sat in silence, pondering. They were wondering just exactly how they should start off. Blake began to worry if it was even possible with the amount of power the White Fang had now. She was becoming increasingly frustrated and worried, when Kali snapped her fingers.

"For now, we can use Corsac and Fennec as spies to the White Fang. Obviously, we won't tell them that they are spies, but we can ask them to bring back useful info."

Ghira shook his head sadly. "Even then it will be quite obvious we are trying to seek out information by the questions we ask. God… this is so frustrating."

"You said it big guy," Sun said agreeing, gesturing his cup of tea at him. Ghira scowled. "Don't call me that."

Sun grinned sheepishly, muttering an apology. Then he turned to Blake. "Look Blake, I know you want to take out the White Fang as fast as possible. I get that. I want to as well. But we won't be able to think of a miraculous plan right off the bat. It takes time."

Blake blinked, surprised at the wisdom in Sun's words. Sun grinned at her reaction. "I suggest spending time with your parents and stuff. They have been dying to see you anyway."

Blake turned to see Kali and Ghira both smiling lovingly at her, with Ghira muttering something about Sun not being all too bad. For the first time since Corsac and Fennec had appeared, Blake smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks Sun." She gave him a grateful smile and he turned away blushing saying it was no big deal. However, before anybody could do anything else, Piccolo suddenly spoke sternly.

"I hate to break the cheery mood and all, but I would like to talk about the intruder hiding in the corner."

The others stared at him, then looked around frantically. The room was empty.

"What do you mean?" Ghira said, turning to back to Piccolo, "Are you trying to pull something on us Namekaken?"

"First off, Namekian. Second off," Piccolo pointed to a spot in the corner of the room behind Sun, "She's standing right there. Probably some sort of camouflage power, but it doesn't mask her life energy."

They all turned to where he was pointing. To them, it just seemed like a normal yellow wallpaper with small designs woven into it. Then they saw the light shimmer for a second and noticed the outline of a figure dart for the exit, blending in with her surroundings.

They all jumped up immediately and started for her, but before they had taken two steps, Piccolo suddenly appeared in front of the figure. He had moved at such speeds that none of them had even seen him run over and block the figure's path. The figure gave a gasp that sounded feminine and tried to dodge away from Piccolo who just simply swept his arm out, catching the figure and sending her sprawling in front of the others. As the figure lay before them, the camouflage faded, revealing a teenage girl about Blake's age wearing tight black clothing. Her face was mostly covered by a white mask with horns, but the small spots on her face and arms were still visible.

They all stared down at the girl, who was having difficulty getting up after being winded from Piccolo's hit. Then Blake, paler than usual, spoke out hoarsely.  
"Ilia? Is that you?"

* * *

In the dark lands beyond Remnant, Salem sat in her palace, contemplating. It had been one of the only things she had been doing for the last few nights, with the occasional outburst of rage. But, mainly, she sat quietly at the head of her conference table, unmoving.

It was not like she didn't have other things to do. She was supposed to train Cinder more with her Maiden powers and get her prepared to take out the other Maidens once they were found. She was supposed to keep close tabs on spies to see if the locations of the other Maidens appeared. She had also needed to know the status of the White Fang from Hazel when he visited, which if she had been paying closer attention, was taking longer than planned.

However, all of this was pushed to the back of her mind behind one singular thought. The power of Lord Frieza.

After her talk with the tyrant, she had first raged angrily at her weakness. Then, once she had calmed down a bit, Salem had pondered just how powerful Frieza was. Or more accurately, how much more powerful he was compared to her.

The question had plagued her ever since and even though she was now fairly certain about the answer, she had not been able to stop thinking about it. The fact of the matter was the extent of the difference between her and Frieza was so massive that it caused her to wonder if he was just unbelievably powerful or, and the thought made her angry, she had become weak over the centuries.

It was true that she had never really practiced with her magic since she had been given the power of immortality from the gods for her crimes, but that was because with the inherent power she had gained, she had never felt the need to. Not to mention, she was immortal, and whether that be for better or for worse, she could not die.

So, if that was true, why did Frieza terrify her? Was it just because of the power? Salem knew that was part of the problem, but she also knew, and she would never admit it to anyone, that she was feeling a feeling she hadn't experience since she was just mortal.

Unadulterated fear. The fear of what would happen if she came face to face with the monster. The fear of how easily it would be for him to show the world her weakness. And, finally, the fear of the pain and torture that would follow. Salem was no fool. She knew that being immortal would hardly stop the psychopath from causing her every bit of pain imaginable. It would be endless agony, unable to find release from it and unable to free herself with force.

But how did she know all of this? Even with her conversation with Frieza, she had not gathered much information about him before he had stamped on her words and demanded his own questions answered. But, with a character like Frieza, Salem did not need to talk to him to know who he was like. All she had to see were his cold red eyes and the cruel smirk he carried. The face had haunted her thoughts all this time, never failing to strike a new pang of fear into her.

At first, she had actually felt slightly proud for being able to read a person like so. She felt had she the edge. But as the nights went on, her proudness faded quickly, replaced by uncertainty and then fear once more. She felt that he purposefully showed it off just to make his enemies even more terrified, which if it was the case, it worked quite well. He was not just a master of raw power, but a master of psychological torture, able to affect the minds of people far from him just by conversing with them.

Salem sighed heavily, burying her head in her hands. Psychological torture had always been her specialty as well, more so than her raw power which, until recently, had been some of the most powerful the world of Remnant had ever seen. The fact she was being affected by what she had used countless times on others infuriated her, but it also caused her to feel great envy, another unfamiliar feeling to her since she had become immortal. In fact, envy was probably the only feeling that was just as great as her fear at the moment. She envied almost everything about Frieza, seeing all the aspects of a ruler that she had used but to a much larger extent.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door. Salem sighed once more, trying her best to push her thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Come in," she called, not as confidently as she would have liked.

The double doors opened, and the Fall Maiden Cinder strode in, her red dress flowing behind her. She glared at Salem with her one remaining eye as she took her seat at the table to Salem's left. Evidently, she was quite unhappy with her mistress as her scowl lines deepened when Salem tried for her usual cold motherly smile.

"Ah Cinder, so nice of you to come," she said, "I trust all is going well?"

Cinder growled, the scar over her whitening slightly as it stretched. "Well? Forgive me my lady, but you have not come to train me since the meeting. I have had to make do on my own, but I was hoping for your counsel on these matters. Instead you sit here brooding day and night!"

Salem, was a little surprised at the fact Cinder's voice had returned, was much more surprised at Cinder's gall. She stood up from her chair, the air swirling around her darkly. Cinder did not move as Salem advanced slowly and menacingly, her eyes growing brighter red as she did so. She was almost upon her when a shrill laughter pierced Salem's mind. She clutched her head, closing her eyes as if in severe pain and as she did so, she heard a mocking voice echo in her brain.

"Such weakness! To be scolded by your own servants… you are no mistress… you are a worthless coward!"

Salem's hands felt clammy. Her face beaded with sweat as she trembled uncontrollably, taking a few steps back and falling into her chair. All the while, Cinder watched, but her expression had softened and now conveyed some sympathy.

"You heard his voice in your head as well?" she asked Salem, who nodded faintly. Cinder clenched her fists on the table as her anger suddenly returned, but this time it wasn't directed at Salem.

"That monster… ever since we saw him, his voice has been stuck in my mind, degrading and insulting me. Mercury and Emerald have been having the same problem. We are sure it actually isn't him speaking to us, but… if that's the case…," she trailed off, her anger once again melting, replaced by hopelessness.

"It is just his effect on us," confirmed Salem quietly, "I have been hearing the same for the past few nights. Though I have not thought about much else other than him and his overwhelming power."

Cinder didn't respond. She didn't need to. Power was one thing she desired above all else. It had been the reason she had initially been so fascinated in Frieza, only to be terrified of the sheer magnitude. Though, it wasn't just that.

"My lady," she said tentatively, "I know neither of us want to think about this, but I also have this bad feeling in my chest, if I may say."

Salem nodded, wondering what Cinder could say to make this situation any worse. She really was curious how much further down they could go from having a psychotic emperor flying around that could easily ruin all their plans by destroying either the Maidens, Relics (which he had almost done already by accident) or even the world.

"I believe, though I have no proof, but I have a strong feeling that…," Cinder took a deep breath, gathering her strength, "That the power we saw from him is only a tiny tip of what he is capable of…"

* * *

"Stop pouting Nora, we are almost there," Jaune said, annoyance beginning to creep into his voice as his energetic friend asked him for the hundredth time if they had reached their next destination. In response, Nora just pouted deeply, before suddenly skipping ahead merrily.

"That girls mood changes at the drop of the pin, doesn't it?" Krillin asked, eyeing her curiously. Jaune nodded wearily, though a faint smile also appeared on his lips. "It's tiring but endearing in its own right. I just feel bad for Ren. He has to deal with her non-stop."

They looked behind them at Ren, who for once was talking to someone other than Nora. He was taking an interest in Dende and the powers he had used to heal him after the Ursa attack. Likewise, Dende had been intrigued by Ren's Semblance, explaining how he had been taught back on Namek that emotions could not be controlled.

Beside them, Ruby was listening curiously to Gohan, who was gushing about his father. The sight of seeing the little boy talking about his father with such pride and delight was able to warm the heart of the entire group, especially Ruby.

This is how it had been for the last few hours walking down the path to the next village on their way to the city of Mistral. It had been a full day since the Ursa attack and afterward, though each side had decided to trust each other, there had been little talk the following day, focusing on making good distance. Of course, the real reason was that tensions had still been high after Team RNJR had found out about the withheld information. Granted, when they had heard what had been withheld, it hadn't improved the mood.

But when night time rolled around, and they set up camp at the edge of the path, Ruby had decided to open up a bit more. She had felt sorry for being so hostile to her new friends when they had first met. She was always sure she was the happy friendly person that would make anyone feel welcome. But this time, she had acted nervous and borderline aggressive when she had learned they had withheld information, without being considerate about why they would. Afterward, she had told herself that she would make up for her behavior and make sure that she got to know her new friends well and make sure they would enjoy journeying with them.

Around the camp fire, she told funny stories about her and her half-sister, Yang, and how they would torment their father with crazy antics, bringing up the mood quickly. Soon, they listened to Krillin recounting hilarious tales about when he and Gohan's father, Goku, were younger and trained under their perverted instructor, Master Roshi. He awed the Huntsmen when he described how Master Roshi had trained them by strapping heavy turtle shells to their backs and instructed them to carry milk carts for miles or swim away from bloodthirsty sharks.

"Of course," he had said smugly, "That was back in the old days. Now, me and Goku have easily surpassed Master Roshi!"

"And Goku is the most powerful on Earth!" Gohan said cheerfully, causing Krillin to wince. He had leaned down and whispered, "Hey Gohan, you know you could say I am the most powerful in front of our new friends. They don't know Goku yet and all so…"

Gohan looked at him innocently. "But that would be lying," he replied, loud enough for everyone else to hear and sending them into a giggling fit as Krillin looked mortified.

When morning had dawned, spirits were high as they woke up and packed up to leave, chatting all the while. Even the weather, which had been gray and bleak the day before, seemed to be cheered up by the company's happiness and had cleared up, revealing the bright sun shining down on them.

"Say I have question," Jaune now said to Krillin who nodded him to go on, "The strength you guys displayed yesterday… that wasn't aura or anything right?"

Krillin glanced at Jaune curiously. "Aura?"

Jaune sighed, "Yeah that's what I thought. You guys aren't from here. We Huntsmen have a life force called aura that we use to shield ourselves and power our attacks into unique abilities called Semblances."

Juane looked down at Krillin, noticing he was looking down, his eyes closed, and arms crossed.

"Sorry, I don't mean to lecture you," Jaune quickly apologized, feeling foolish.

Krillin shook his head, opening his eyes and smiling up at Jaune. "No, no, sorry about that. I was just thinking. What you just told me has explained a few things to me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you see," Krillin began, "Me, Gohan and Dende use something called Ki, which is also a type of life energy. We don't use it as a shield per say, but we can manipulate it around us to allow us to fly, be more agile and use energy-based techniques such as firing energy beams at foes. Along with all that though, we can sense other people's life forces by concentrating. The amount of energy we sense all depends on how strong their life force or Ki is."

Jaune listened intently, hiding his shock of how easily Krillin threw around words such as "energy beams".

"So, the point I'm trying to get at that is, when me and Gohan arrived here, we sensed for our friend's energies. But, while we did, we noticed that your energies were actually decently large. However, and no offense here, you outwardly didn't seem strong at all and by what we have heard about your adventures, your abilities hardly reflect the power we sensed," Krillin looked up to check if Jaune was still following along, which he was, and continued, "But now that you told me about this 'aura' stuff, I now understand the energy you guys have surrounding you."

"So, what you're saying is," Jaune summed up, "That our auras make us seem much more powerful than we actually are."

Krillin chuckled a little. "Not quite. I mean, you are right in the sense that it makes you look stronger when we sense your energy, but it doesn't mean you can't become that powerful."

Jaune stopped and stared at Krillin, wondering if he had heard right.

"Wh-what?!"

"Yeah, with the right training and mentality, you four have the potential to become as powerful as us. Of course, when I mean training, I mean hardcore training that you must keep up with daily. The objective is to get your physical strength and agility to a much higher level than it is right now. Then, in theory, your aura could become stronger and be used much more effectively. They could shield you better and boost your unique abilities to be much more powerful and influential in battle."

Jaune just stared at him stunned. All he could think of was how easily Gohan and Krillin had dealt with the Ursa the day before. He could never see himself even nearing that power during his entire lifetime. But, with Krillin's new insight, he began to wonder.

"Right now," he said slowly, trying not get too excited, "Honestly, how powerful are we without the addition of aura?"

Krillin recoiled slightly, and Juane guessed what his answer would be.

"Honestly, compared to me and Gohan, you guys are very weak. In fact, to give you a good comparison, you guys are all about the same power as when me and Goku first started training under Master Roshi, if not weaker."

Jaune's shoulders slumped. He nodded to Krillin to continue though. "Now if we factor the amount of aura you use normally without the untapped potential, I would say your power is roughly about the strength me and Goku were when we fought in our first martial arts tournament. Which, by the way, is really strong compared to normal people. But nothing compared to what we are at right now."

"But if we train our bodies, we will be as strong as you," asked Ruby from behind, startling both Jaune and Krillin. They had been so immersed in their discussion, they had temporarily forgotten about everyone else. Now they were all looking at Krillin, awaiting his answer.

"Yes, or at least I believe so. Our Ki energy and attacks only get stronger if we ourselves are physically and mentally stronger. So, I'm hoping it is the same with you and aura."

Nora suddenly grinned broadly and motioned to a small tree stump. "You have been going on and on about how you're so much stronger. While I will admit your performance against the Ursa was impressive, I wouldn't sell ourselves too short. I challenge you to an arm-wrestling tournament!"  
Ren sighed in exasperation while Ruby giggled uncontrollably.

"Nora don't be ridiculous," Ren pleaded, "You are very strong. They said so. But compared to them…"  
"Exactly Ren," Nora said, turning serious all of a sudden, "Compared to them. I appreciate their strength and I honestly have really enjoyed their company. But I don't like Krillin here saying we are borderline pathetic."

Krillin looked down, ashamed. Jaune however shot back, annoyed with Nora's attitude.

"I asked him to be honest and he was. There is nothing to get angry with. I trust his judgement and after yesterday, I believe you should as well."

Nora was about to retort when Gohan spoke up. "I will arm-wrestle you Nora. I don't mind."

Nora's serious expression returned to its usual crazy excitement. "Perfect! Let's get to it!"

The group headed over to the tree stump and stood around it as Nora and Gohan kneeled down on either side. They placed their elbows flat on the stump and gripped hands tightly.

"Alright, ready little boy?" Nora said, her competitive side beginning to show in her excitement.

Gohan was not perturbed. "Yeah, let's have a good match," he said, politely as ever.

Ruby counted down from five and once she reached zero, they both tensed. Immediately, Gohan's arm began to win over Nora's. Nora's competitive smug smile melted into shock and anger as her arm fell towards the stump. Just before it did, she suddenly exerted a powerful pink energy around her and channeled it to her arm. Her arm strengthened, resisting Gohan just above the surface of the stump. She got back her smile and looked up at Gohan to see his reaction. Gohan looked perfectly calm and Nora noticed that unlike her, he wasn't sweating profusely or stressing his muscles. He looked as calm as he if was shaking someone's hand at a business meeting. When she saw this, Nora's spirit gave way and she released her aura, letting her arm drop to the stump.

"See," Ren said, completely unsurprised by the outcome, "They are on a whole different level Nora. Even when you tried to use your aura as an enhancer."

Ruby nodded in agreement. She looked at Gohan, her silver eyes looking at him closely. "You didn't even use your full strength did you Gohan?"

Gohan shook his head. "Sorry, I didn't mean to insult. I just didn't want to hurt you," he glanced nervously at Nora, who had her head hung low and panting heavily, "I still had a lot of fun though."

Nora looked up, and to everyone's relief, her face was back to its normal energetic state.

"Man, you are just too good Gohan! That's the first time I have ever lost an arm-wrestling match! You gotta train me!"

Gohan chuckled in embarrassment. "I don't know Nora. I'm not a great trainer."

"But then how will we unleash our potential?" Ruby said curiously, "I mean I know Krillin could train us, but he could use your help. Right Krillin?"

Krillin blinked, surprised. Then he raised his hands, mimicking Gohan's embarrassed laugh.

"Now wait a second Ruby. I am more than happy to train you. But it won't be easy. It will be back breaking work and will take time to do. Not to mention you're on a journey, we don't have time for-"

"We will do it as we journey." Jaune said, his voice determined. Krillin glanced at the other members of Team RNJR to see the same determined expression reflected in their faces. Even Ren had no objection to give.

Krillin glanced at Gohan. They both shared the same worries. The training they had in mind would be beyond anything that these Huntsmen had ever done. It would reduce them to sweating tired husks, unable to walk afterward which, on a journey, is a paramount part of the operation. But it wasn't just that. It was the fact that they were worried about spending too much time. They needed to find Goku and the others and figure out a plan to deal with Frieza who, they already knew, had begun wreaking havoc across Remnant, probably in search for them. They had already agreed to suppress their Ki energy and not use it so as not to attract his attention, but that hardy meant he would sit down idly and just wait. They knew all too well that Frieza had other ways of passing the time.

The two stayed silent for almost a minute, letting the thoughts flow through. Meanwhile Dende and Team RNJR watched, the latter beginning to grow annoyed. Ruby stepped forward, looking down at the two.

"We want to become stronger to protect our friends and family. We want to defeat Cinder and her crew and whoever else she works with. And," she paused locking eyes with Krillin and Gohan, "We want to help you fight Frieza."

She left that hang in the air, which had seemed to become colder since the morning. The sky above had begun to once more cover in a light carpet of grey clouds, preventing the sun's rays from reaching the ground.

Finally, with one last look to one another, Krillin and Gohan nodded and faced Team RNJR. They both looked deadly serious and their tones reflected so when they gave their answer.

"Alright. We have agreed to train you during the journey and even afterward. However, it will be very intense. To the point where you guys will be begging to stop. But if you want to get more powerful in a relatively short amount of time, you will have to complete them."

They all nodded, their faces still determined. Gohan turned to Krillin, letting his serious look be replaced by his usual friendly smile.

"I think they get it Krillin," he said, "You can throw around all the dangers of the training and what not, but I doubt their choice will change."

"Yeah," Krillin conceded, "You're right. They remind me a bit of your father in way like that."

They got ready to go once more down the path. They were just about to start, when Juane spoke, a sudden thought coming into his head. "Wait, are we going to begin fighting like you guys do without weapons? Do we need to give up on our weapons?"  
Immediately, Ruby clenched her weapon to herself while glancing in terror at Gohan and Krillin as if she was a little girl getting her toy taken away.

"No absolutely not," Krillin soothed quickly, making sure Ruby didn't suffer a panic attack, "The weapons you guys use can still be part of your combat. Goku used to use a magical staff that could extend to incredible lengths. However, the way you implement it into combat and the techniques you use with them are up to you. We can't train you how to use them."

They nodded, Ruby looking very relieved. While the others didn't have the same obsessive love for their weapon as Ruby did, they all did have a fondness for them and were quite thankful for Krillin's answer.

"Well, now that's all sorted," Dende said, bringing everyone's attention to him, "We should get to the next village before nightfall. The weather is beginning to take a turn for the worse."

They all looked up to see that he was right. The thin blanket of grey clouds that had appeared before had now coalesced into a dark mass, not unlike the forecast of the time when they had fought the Ursa. They all nodded in agreement and, together, began heading down the road at a quick pace, Team RNJR excited for their first training session. Little did they know; their training would be delayed by the arrival of a certain person.

* * *

When Yang woke up, the first thing she noticed was that she was inside in her house, staring at the wooden ceiling while lying on the living room couch. The second thing she noticed was the concerned face of her father peering at her. Finally, she noticed that her side and face were heavily bandaged.

"Again?" she thought annoyed. After her first training session with Vegeta, she had needed to bandage her broken nose. A painful process that was fully unnecessary since by the time she had woken up the next morning, her aura had healed it up.

Then she felt Tai poke her face and she came back to reality. Her eyes opened fully, and she weakly swatted away his hand.

"Stop that dad," she complained, "Seriously do you not know to wake someone up?"

Tai grinned sheepishly. "Just happy to see my daughter awake."

Yang slowly raised herself, propping her elbows on a couch pillow. She looked around. The living room was empty except for her and Tai.

"Where's Vegeta?"

A grunt suddenly came from behind the wall next to the doorway from the kitchen. A second later, Vegeta appeared in the doorway, sporting his usual scowl. When he saw Vegeta, Tai's face grew cold, but he pushed down the urge to say anything. Instead, he turned back to his daughter.

"Vegeta told me he did this to you," he said, forcing calm in his voice, "For apparently disrespecting him or something." Vegeta's scowl deepened slightly, but Tai ignored it and went on saying, "But he also told me you were planning to leave. To see your sister."

Tai stared down at Yang and she saw that they had become glassy and sad. She knew what was going to follow and she suddenly felt a surge of fury flow through her. She looked at Vegeta, her anger clearly showing.

"You told him?!"

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "He wouldn't shut up about it. He kept asking why I hit you and then what you said to me. It was really quite aggravating. Nearly made me destroy the house."

Yang was about to yell at him some more, when Tai brought her attention back to him.

"You didn't want me to know? You wanted to leave without telling me? Just like…," his voice caught for a second, before he gulped and finished, "Just like Ruby?"  
The pain in his eyes was almost too much for Yang to look at. It was the pain and worry of a father who was losing the kids he loved so very much. Tai had not shown it much, but Yang had noticed the change in him since Ruby left. He had stopped making as much puns or jokes. He had been quieter and preferred to spend time alone doing chores. At night, Yang would hear him weeping quietly, every once in a while, saying, "I'm so sorry Summer… I am so sorry," referring to Ruby's mother Summer Rose who had died shortly after Ruby's birth.

Despite this though, Yang had to go after Ruby. Not to bring her back, but to be with her. To protect her and to her help her on the quest she had decided to take up. There was no way she was spending the rest of her time doing house chores.

"Dad," she said, her voice stern and her eyes hard, "I must go."

Tai didn't respond, staring back at her. Then he rose and without a word left the room, passing by Vegeta as if he wasn't there. They heard him storm up the stairs and slam his bedroom door shut.

Yang lowered her head, guilty for making her father so worried. She understood how he felt. But she also believed he understood how she felt as well. Maybe he just needed time to think.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Vegeta said, out of the blue, "You remind me of someone."  
Yang looked at him, her guilt and sadness overcome by a sudden rush of curiosity. Since the day he had arrived, Vegeta hadn't spoken much about the Saiyans or his past. Yang had made the assumption that despite being the so-called Prince of Saiyans, he was quite the loner, with little to none that he could actually call his friends.

"Who?"

"A low leveled Saiyan warrior," he said gruffly, "His name is Kakarot, though many of his friends call him Goku after he landed on the planet Earth without a name. He is different than most Saiyan's, fighting for the love of his friends and family instead of his Saiyan pride. Quite disgraceful."

Yang raised an eyebrow. "Disgraceful to care about friends and family?"

"Saiyan warriors don't have time for such things," Vegeta snapped at her, "We must fight for our honor and Saiyan pride! Other feelings only weaken us."

"So, you're saying that since I care for my sister so much, I am just as weak as this Goku guy?"  
Vegeta's fist clenched tightly and for a moment, Yang was sure he was going to punch her. Then he snarled, "First off, it's Kakarot. Call him by his Saiyan name. Second, your love for your family will only impede your training under me and make you-"

"Weaker. Yeah I heard you the first time." Yang was angry once more. It was one thing for him to constantly insult her weakness due to her physical strength. But to insult her because of her love for her family? That was too far.

"So, I presume that you didn't care for your family, just guessing by your logic?"

Vegeta smirked and Yang felt her anger rise at his contempt.

"My father was the king of the Saiyans. He only cared about the well-being of our race and to make sure we were feared throughout the galaxy. He was focused on making me the most powerful Saiyan in history, making me train and fight all my life. He was the one that taught me that feelings such as love, and compassion were only obstacles to true strength."

Vegeta looked down at Yang, his scowl deep. He was surprised to see her hanging her head low, the anger she had felt going away and replaced by another feeling.

"I'm sorry for you," she said quietly.

"What?"

"I'm sorry that you have never felt love and companionship," Yang continued looking up at Vegeta and he saw the feeling that had replaced her anger. Pity.

"How… how dare YOU!" he roared, rage boiling to the surface, "HOW DARE YOU LOOK AT ME WITH SUCH PITY! I AM VEGETA, PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS AND-"

"AND YOU KNOW NOTHING!"

Yang sprang up, yelling right back, for once silencing the proud Saiyan. As she yelled, all her sadness, anger, grief, and guilt she had felt in the last few months since the attack on Beacon began pouring out in a tidal flow.

"YOU ARE A SPITEFULL, HURTFULL, CRUEL BASTARD! YOU CARE ABOUT NOTHING BESIDES YOUR POWER AND YOUR STUPID PRIDE! YOU LOOK DOWN UPON EVERYONE WHO IS WEAKER THAN YOU! SINCE YOU HAVE CAME, YOU HAVE MADE ME AND MY FATHERS LIFE MISERABLE! NOT BECAUSE OF YOUR HARSH TRAINING BUT BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF RESPECT AND CARE YOU HAVE FOR US! BUT DESPITE ALL OF THIS, YES PRINCE VEGETA, I PITY YOU! I PITY THAT YOUR FATHER COULD NOT LOVE HIS SON AND SHOW HIM WHAT ELSE LIFE HAS IN STORE BESIDES GETTING STRONG!"

She stood, panting heavily, letting her jumbled emotions leave her. Across from her, Vegeta stood frozen in a mixture of shock and fury. He opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it once more, unable to think of anything. Instead, he turned on his heel and marched out of the room and Yang heard him crash through the front door.

Now she stood alone in the living room, surrounded by a heavy silence. She waited. Waited for Vegeta to burst back through the wall and kill her. But it did not happen.

Slowly, her body woke up and she collapsed onto the couch, shaking from a sudden nausea. The magnitude of her emotion and yelling had been enough to physically weaken her so much, that the vertigo she felt from it almost caused her to throw up. However, she did not regret what she had done. She had finally gotten off the feelings and words that weighed her down for so long, releasing them on the person that needed them the most. Of course, she doubted that it would change his view on things. If anything, all it did was make him hate her. But she could at least feel she had done something to try and point the proud Prince Vegeta in the right direction.

Above, she heard a door open, followed by footsteps walking down the stairs. Tai walked into the living room, his eyes red and tear tracks on his cheeks.

"Yang?" he asked, putting a hand to her shoulder, "Are you okay?"

Yang took a deep breath before nodding. "Yeah, I'm good," she glanced at Tai, "You?"

"I have been better," he replied, trying for a weak smile which Yang returned.

"Yeah, I think we all have."

Her father paused for a few seconds, collecting his emotions before speaking once more.

"Look Yang. I am your father. My job is to protect you because I love you more than anything in the world. If I knew something had happened to you, I would never forgive myself. In fact, I have already failed you once. You lost your arm in the battle at Beacon."

Yang was about to object, but Tai put his hand up for silence and she let him finish.

"I also failed with your sister. I could not keep Ruby from leaving. After that happened, I told myself I would not make another mistake. I would make sure you would stay here, safe and away from the dangers that await you out there. But even when I made that promise, deep inside, I knew that I would not be able to keep it. I knew you would insist on going after your sister. I just hoped…," and here, a single tear trailed down his cheek. "I hoped you would stay longer and only leave when I thought you were ready. But I soon realized that no matter how long I kept you here, I would never be ready to see you leave."

Yang felt her own eyes water as Tai sniffed, trying to control himself. Just outside the living room, Vegeta leaned against the wall, listening. The usual scowl he wore was not there.

"What I'm trying to say is that… I will let you go. I can't stop you, no matter how much I would want to. But I won't try to. As long as you promise… promise that you can be safe."

They two Xiao Long's sat there, tears flowing freely down their faces. Yang then cried out and threw her arms around her father and wept alongside him. They stayed like this for who knows how long. They sure did not, too concerned in sharing the moment with each other. Even after they had spent all their tears, they still sat together, not wanting to let go.

Finally, Yang finally pulled back, wiping the tear tracks from her cheek, smiling weakly.

"I promise I will come back to you dad."

Tai smiled back, nodding. "I will be waiting. Keep yourself safe and when you find Ruby, keep her safe as well."

Yang nodded. Then a voice spoke behind them, startling them both.

"Hmmph, going before your training is over? I hope you understand your training will be following you."

Father and daughter looked to see Vegeta standing in the doorway in his usual position. However, Yang noticed that in his scowl, his eyes seemed to have softened just a little.

"You mean…?" Tai asked, thinking over what Vegeta said, his eyes widening when he realized what he meant.

Yang however, just stood up and walked over to Vegeta. She stopped before him, looking directly into his eyes. Then, she raised her hand for a handshake.

"I wouldn't be happy about not completing my training. I will be glad to have you with me."

Vegeta slapped her hand to the side, scoffing at her words. "Don't get the wrong idea girl. I am coming for my own reasons."

Yang just smiled, ignoring his attitude. "Sure, whatever you say."

They stood silently face to face, a smiling face and a scowling face. Neither spoke. Behind them, Tai watched the exchange in awe, the pure determination and feeling radiating off of both sides. He shook himself and then clapped to grab their attention.

"Alright. Now that's cleared up, to bed Yang."

Yang gaped at him. "Bed?! It's only 9 P.M!"

"Yes, and you need to be well rested tomorrow when you leave. I think even Vegeta could agree with that."

Vegeta just grunted, turning away and making his way outside. "I don't care what you do. Just be ready tomorrow. I don't want to wait up on you. Our training will be tomorrow evening, so we can leave early."

Yang sighed. She hated going to bed early. But for once, she headed upstairs without complaint and as she got ready for bed, she thought to herself, "Get ready Ruby, I am coming for you!"

* * *

Lord Frieza sat on his throne, looking thoughtfully down at the growing crowd of White Fang members before him. Even he had to admit that for such a weak organization, it had quite the number of members. Perfect for an army.

It was to the point where one of his members he had recruited back at the village had come to him to say not every single member would be able to fit in the hall. In response, Frieza had simply pointed his pinky finger at the entrance wall, firing a beam of energy, destroying it.

"There, that should be some more room right captain?"

Frieza had decided to name all the members he had recruited at that village as captains for their loyalty, all apart from the one that had killed the baby which he promoted to general. When they had received their promotions, they had been stunned and ever grateful, worshiping the tyrant and pledging their lives to him. Frieza had laughed playfully, enjoying the sight, but he also gave them a grave warning.

"You see, I do reward the men that do follow my orders. However, I also severely punish anyone who steps out of line. Don't forget that my new captain's and commander."

Now, as the throne room and the plaza outside filled up, the bustle of the crowd began to lessen as they stood to attention, facing their new leader. Frieza smirked in delight.

"Ah, isn't this just lovely," he said, turning to Adam Taurus who was standing next to him, who bowed deeply, muttering, "Yes, my lord. A grand army all for you."

Frieza suddenly grabbed the scruff of his neck and pulled him within an inch of his face. Adam trembled in fear as Frieza pierced him with his cold red eyes.

"Mutter like that when speaking to me once more and I will make sure to use you as my demonstration for these soldiers."

He pushed him away in disgust, turning back to his audience. He stood from his throne, his cruel smile returning to his face as he raised his arms in welcome. The noise in the crowd ceased immediately. No one stirred. Then Frieza began his speech.

"Welcome my army, welcome! I am simply delighted to see you could all make it and I must say I am enthralled by your size and spirit." Here, his pleasantry voice began to convey a bit of malice. "As you know, I have taken over your organization known as the "White Fang" or something like that. However, that name does not serve me justice and to be quite honest, I think it is quite the horrid name. Which is my first decree as your new lord is to rebrand this army. You will no longer be known as the White Fang. Henceforth, you are the Frieza Force!" He allowed that to settle on his new troops, who remained silent. Then one member raised his fist and shouted, "The Frieza Force!"

Troops shifted next to him nervously, watching as Frieza's gaze landed on their area of the crowd. His eyes locked on to the faunus who had spoken, and his smile curled up.

"Ah such spirit!" he called out, "I appreciate that in my army. In fact, for showing such loyalty, would you please come up here and have the honor to help me with a demonstration?"

The soldier excitedly began wading through the crowd until he got to the steps and bowed down to Frieza, who just pointed to a spot a few feet to his right. Then Frieza addressed the whole crowd once more, his voice loud and imposing.

"Moving on to our next order of business, which consists of discipline."

The crowd didn't speak, but a few troops tensed up in fear. Along the back wall, the commander and captains also had a bad feeling about what their master was going to do.

"For this, I will be using my helpful soldier here to serve as an example to any of you who disobeys my orders."

With that, he thrust his arm towards the soldier. A purple aura surrounded him, and as he wondered what was happening, he suddenly shot high into the air. Just before he hit the ceiling, his chest swelled as if about to burst and he screamed in sheer agony right before he exploded right in front of everyone's eyes. The particles rained down over the crowd, who did not move to avoid, in fear that they would be punished as well if they did so.

Frieza chuckled at the apparent terror spreading throughout the crowd. Adam, on the other hand, shrunk away instinctively. It was unusual for him. He had taken pleasure from the pain of all the humans he had tortured and killed for the name of the faunus. But, as he stood transfixed by the remains of the faunus falling to the ground, he suddenly felt great regret for all his actions. It didn't last long as Frieza presently turned to him, his evil glare fixed on him and somehow pushing all thoughts of regret and guilt out of him.

"Now that you are all clear on the consequences of any actions that I find displeasing," Frieza called to the audience, bringing their attention to him once more, "It is time that you are told your goals."

The massive crowd of troops stood silent, listening closely as Frieza cleared his throat. His expression suddenly changed. From his mocking smile and cruel demeanor, his face contorted into a horrible grimace of rage. His teeth clenched tightly, his eyes burned with a fire and he raised his fist up. When he spoke next, his voice was potent with bloodlust.

"I want a certain group of people found. One of them is a scum-bag by the name of Vegeta. The other filth will be noticeable by their unusually high power, at least compared to your pathetic selves. If you find them, apprehend them and notify me IMMEDIATELY!" Frieza's voice abruptly rose to a scream, "IF ANY ONE OF THEM ARE DEAD BEFORE I ARRIVE, I WILL MAKE SURE THE PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE WILL SUFFER A FATE FAR WORSE THAN DEATH! THOSE SCUM WILL DIE BY MY HAND AND NO ONE ELSE!"

He paused, letting his words take effect. The soldiers collectively bowed, shouting a word of assent. Frieza's anger dulled a little, the obedience giving him delight.

"However," he continued, his voice calmer but no less evil, "If anyone gets in your way, kill them in the name of the Frieza Force! In fact, while you are in search for the scum, I implore you to conquer and pillage and city, village or even kingdom! By the end of this, I will become supreme ruler of this world!"

He threw back his head cackled with maniacal laughter, which echoed off the walls of the throne room, piercing the minds of all the soldiers in the room. They roared in approval and chanted as one.

"HAIL LORD FRIEZA! HAIL LORD FRIEZA!"

Then, a sudden commotion occurred at the edge of the army. A few soldiers yelled at each other and some even dived to the ground, as if trying to catch something. The disruption spread throughout the crowd until the entire army, Adam and Frieza were all looking at the source. It didn't take long to find out what had happened.

A soldier broke off from his row and seemed to be chasing something small racing its way towards the throne. On closer inspection, Frieza saw it to be a plump green frog, hopping madly towards him with a small wooden board between his mouth. On the board, there seemed to be some black coal smeared on, spelling out some sort of message. When Frieza saw what it said, he suddenly smiled, realizing who it was.

He raised his finger and blasted an energy beam at the Frieza soldier who was chasing him. He barely had time to cry out before the beam went right through his heart, instantly ending his life.

The frog hopped up the steps. Adam stepped forward, hand on his hilt, but Frieza shot him a warning look that made him shrink back in terror. Then he turned back to the frog, who was sitting before him, his head bowed and the sign before him. On it, the smeared coal read, "CHANGE NOW! Note do not read this if your Lord Frieza." Frieza smiled.

"Well, well. I didn't think you were still alive, Captain," he said, amusement in his voice, "I was sure that you were disposed of by Vegeta and his brats."

The frog nodded frantically, looking up pleadingly at the tyrant. Frieza considered the amphibian for a second before continuing, "You disappointed me back on Namek. A quite unforgivable crime usually. However, the current situation calls for a slight bend in the rules. If you can promise to serve me loyally and do your job well, I will allow you to rejoin my glorious army. What do you say?"

The frog nodded frantically once more, croaking as if it was cheering. Then it paused and tentatively pointed with one of its webbed feet at the sign. Frieza understood.

"Ah yes. You want a suitable body. I can agree to that. I doubt you will be able to serve me well in that form," he looked distastefully at the frog, "But what body should I give you?"

He pondered the question, his eyes closed, and arms crossed. In front of him, the audience watched silently, intrigued by the whole exchange though not daring to say anything.

Very slowly, with his eyes still closed, Frieza's mouth began to curl into a wicked smile. He opened his eyes and turned to Adam.

"I believe we do you have quite the suitor for our friend here. Bring him out."

Adam stared at Frieza for a second, processing what he said and even when he realized what he meant he hesitated for a split-second. But in the end, fearing for his own life, he bowed and quickly walked off through a side door, calling a few soldiers from the crowd to join him.

They disappeared behind the door for a second and did not come out for a few minutes. The room was silent, even the portion outside was completely silent as if the weather did not dare to breathe in fear of angering the mighty lord.

Eventually, scuffling noises were heard behind the door, followed by a few grunts of effort. The door slowly opened. Adam came out, followed by Frieza soldiers who were now carrying a barely conscious figure between them. A few faunus in the crowd gasped when they recognized Hazel being carried towards Frieza like a pig for slaughter. He did not look much better than a pig. His clothes were torn, skin cut and bruised in multiple places and deep wounds across his back and legs that were still bleeding freely.

The soldiers placed Hazel in front of Frieza, bowed, and returned to their spots in the crowd. Frieza's smile widened as he stepped forward and examined the wounded Hazel. At his approach, the man slowly opened his eyes, looking around him. He did not wince in pain, or even look in pain. But when his eyes landed on Frieza standing over him, his tough face dissolved into panic causing the lord to chuckle.

"Ah, good to see you're awake," he said politely, "It just so happens I have some use for you after all." Frieza gestured to the frog next to him, "You see, my friend here is in need of a suitable body and with your relative strength and marvelous ability, you seemed like the perfect fit."

Hazel tried to slide away, but Adam stepped forcefully on his back, not allowing movement. He grunted, looking up to see Adam. His fearful face suddenly changed into a look of pleading.

"Why… Adam?" he croaked quietly, "Why did you tell him everything?"

Adam did not respond, he looked away from Hazel avoiding his gaze. Frieza answered for him.

"Oh, that's simple really. He is smart enough to realize when he must change allegiance, especially when the new one is so much worthier than the cause of your pathetic witch!" He spat the last words in Hazels face. Then he smiled back at the frog.

"A few things you should know about this body. It works on an energy called 'aura' which is quite similar to Ki your familiar with. I believe you should be able to assimilate some of your signature moves into this body as you do with others. The downside, of course, is that it is much weaker than the body your accustomed to, being only a simple human with big muscles and some energy. But he does possess a very unique ability. One that made his torturing process regrettably less enjoyable," Frieza scowled for a second, unhappy with the notion before continuing, "The ability is to block out pain entirely. Of course, he is still mortal and can be killed, but no matter the amount of damage that is inflicted on him, he will not feel it."

The frog nodded enthusiastically, jumping to show his support.

"I thought you would approve," Frieza grinned. Then he grabbed Hazel by the scruff of the neck and easily dragged the large man towards the frog until they were face to face.

"Alright," he said calmly to Hazel, "All you need to do is say the words on that sign."

Hazel looked at the sign, terrified but at the same time really confused by the whole ordeal. He really didn't understand why the psychotic maniac had talked about his Semblance to a green frog and he didn't understand why he needed to read out a simple phrase. But what he did know was that whatever it was, it would not be good for him.

Hazel stayed silent, unable to bring himself to do it. Frieza, impatient with the holdup, sharply jerked his head up so he could stare into his eyes. Hazel looked into the cold red eyes, and as he did so, tears flowed from his eyes. He saw his family. Happy and carefree, suddenly wiped out. He saw his mistress Salem, broken and defeated, tortured for eternity. Finally, he saw himself, falling in darkness, with only the crazed laughter of Frieza to accompany him.

He slumped, limp as a ragdoll. Pain filled him, but not physical. As Frieza had said, he was immune to physical pain. But mental pain was not included in that package. Frieza had figured that out quickly when torturing him and after Adam had told him about Hazel's Semblance. And now, he used it once more, piercing through the hard shell that was Hazel as easily as if it was paper.

Frieza smirked, satisfied and plopped him back on the ground in front of the frog, repeating, "Say the words."

"Change… Now…," Hazel said quietly.

The moment it left his lips, the crowd gasped in astonishment as between Hazel and the frog, two small energy beams suddenly flew out of their mouths and traveled into the others. Once inside, they both closed their mouths and were surrounded briefly by a yellow aura. When it died, Hazel got up slowly, but steadily, Frieza not interrupting for once. Hazel flexed his arms, opened and closed his fist and flexed his aura outward in a small burst. Then he looked at Frieza, a gleeful smile appearing on his face.

"Lord Frieza," he said, he voice sounding different, gruffer and scratchier, "I thank you for such a gift! I will use this to maximize my efficiency for you and for my amazing poses!"

With this, he bent both his knees while keeping his feet together, stuck out his chest and raised his arms up above his head. In this pose, he yelled, "I, Captain Ginyu, leader of the illustrious Ginyu Force, am back in action under the service of the great Lord Frieza!"

He remained in his pose, looking positively jubilant as everyone else in the throne stared at him, mouths agape. Beside him, Frieza gave him an annoyed look, embarrassed with Ginyu's usual silly antics.

"Yes, thank you Ginyu," he muttered, stepping in front of Ginyu, "Now, please stand next to Adam other there."

Ginyu, in Hazel's body, bowed deeply and strolled towards Adam, eyeing him suspiciously as if he was trying to see if Adam was good material for his Ginyu Force. Adam shifted uncomfortably, still coming to terms with what just occurred.

Presently, Frieza turned back to the crowd and was about to speak once more when a croaking sound on the ground caught his attention. He glanced down to see Hazel the frog, desperately trying to jump away. Frieza looked at it, chortling at the pathetic sight.

"Oh, adorable. He thinks he can leave now," he pointed his finger at the frog, his smile twisting into a sadistic sneer, "Let's give him his release."

"Wait, Lord Frieza!" Ginyu stepped forward once more, posing quickly. Frieza turned to him, annoyed by his interruption but also curious. He nodded at him, inviting him to go on.

"Please allow me to kill the dirty amphibian, Lord Frieza," Ginyu implored, anger in his eyes, "I cannot carry on living without killing the prison I was stuck in and the person who sent me into this prison! Besides, killing such a meaningless creature is far below you!"

Frieza considered his proposal before smiling. "Very well, do as you will."

Ginyu straightened, posed once more and raised his hand with his palm open, aiming for the desperately escaping frog. He concentrated his aura and Ki causing a purple light blaze around him.

"Milky Cannon!" he yelled, blasting a large purple energy beam at the frog. Hazel just had time to see the bright purple light flying towards him before he was caught within it. The area where Hazel was, exploded into a cloud of dust and rubble, causing the Frieza soldiers nearby to scramble back in alarm.

Ginyu smiled brightly, looking down at his hand. "Well, I can still do that."

"Yes, very good job," Frieza said, uninterested with the show of power, "Now, please return to your spot."

Ginyu obeyed immediately, but as he walked passed, a sudden electronic beeping noise blared, startling the entire room. They all looked up at the throne to see Frieza pressing his scouter, concentrating on the numbers flashing on the red display. As he read, his eyes widened, and his mouth contorted into an all too familiar evil smile.

"Well, well Ginyu," he said slowly, "It seems you may get your wish. How do you like the sound of grabbing a couple of men and traveling north?"

Adam started. "North? Where north?"

Frieza, overcome with malicious anticipation, replied, "Far North. I believe it is the kingdom you call Atlas."

* * *

"What is the meaning of this?" Jacques Schnee hissed, scanning the room, his eyes landing on the table covered in food remains and sauce. He then looked at Weiss and Goku sitting at the table looking back at him. Weiss was even paler than usual, looking terrified. Goku, however, seemed unperturbed and just smiled and waved.

"What's up?" he said cheerfully, "Your daughter has been great to me and the food is delicious!"

The Schnee's digested his words for a second, faces full of absolute disgust. Then Jacques Schnee, Weiss's father, turned to Klein.

"What is going on?! Why is Weiss out of her room?! And why is the man from the ship walking about the mansion?!"

Klein flinched at his harsh tone. He tried to reply, but all that came out was a jumble of words. Next to Jacques, a teenage boy around Weiss's age smirked derisively.

"Oh Klein," said Whitley Schnee, Weiss's younger brother, "Have you been giving Weiss some preferential treatment again? Even if it goes against our orders?"

Klein tried to reply, but once again the words died on his lips. Jacques's anger grew, and he stepped towards Klein.

"This has happened before? How dare you Klein! I pay you to follow orders, not satisfy your own feelings!"

Jacques took out his scroll and tapped a few times. In a few seconds, a side door opened and about twenty white clad security guards stormed in, and surrounded Klein, pointing their guns at him.

"Take this worthless Butler to the dungeon," Jacques said turning away from Klein, "I will make sure he gets the proper punishment for wasting my money!"

"Father no!" Weiss sprang to her feet and ran in between Klein and the circle of guards, closing in, "Please, it was me! I made him let me out!"

"SILENCE!" Jacques roared, striding over to his daughter until he towered over her. He struck her across the face hard, leaving a bright red mark. His mustache bristled angrily as he began to berate Weiss.

"I have been disrespected by you for the last time! You have disgraced our name! Attempted to harm the Schnee Dust Business! And now you have ignored my orders to stay in your room and allowed a complete stranger in grubby clothes to eat at our dining table and make a complete mess!"

Weiss gulped, her eyes feeling wet. She was too scared to respond. Behind her, Klein tried to push her behind him, but she resisted, unable to move even if she had wanted to.

Behind Jacques, a tall beautiful woman just sighed and reached into her purse, retrieving a bottle of vermouth.

"It's like I have always told you," Weiss's mother said in a bored voice, cracking open the bottle and drinking from it, "She really isn't the heiress she used to be since associating with those dirty Huntsmen at Beacon. It's Winter all over again."

Whitley cackled once more. "Yes, which is why the heir of the Schnee Dust Company has been passed down to me, as it should!"

Jacques nodded, heeding their words. He glanced down at Weiss and there was no fatherly love or kindness in his face. Only absolute loathing.

"You are no daughter of mine," he said shortly and turned away waving his hand to the guards, "Take them."

The guards hesitated. "The heiress as well sir?"

"She is no heiress anymore," Jacques snapped, "Take her with the filthy butler. Then send some people to escort that disgusting man back down to the medical chamber and make sure he is detained properly!"

He gestured to Goku and then prepared to take his leave. The guards nodded to each other and closed around Weiss and Klein. But before they could even touch them, a barely visible orange figure appeared in front of them. The figure darted from guard to guard, spending less than a second at each before standing in front of Weiss and Klein once more. When he stopped, they saw it was Goku, standing tall, his fists clenched, and his cheerful smile gone, replaced by a stony look staring directly at Jacques Schnee. All around him, the approaching guards suddenly collapsed onto the ground, knocked out cold.

"Wha-What did you?" Jacques stuttered, fear creeping into his voice. Behind him, his wife had choked on her vermouth while Whitley was patting her back, staring at Goku in horror.

Goku ignored him, his expression not changing. Then, without turning around, he said in a tone devoid of happiness.

"Klein, go to Weiss's room and grab her belongings for a trip. Do the same for yourself and then come back downstairs. Understood?"

Klein gulped, but he nodded, stepping over the unconscious guards as he made his way to another side door. Jacques made to stop him but Goku froze him with a look. Once Klein had left, Goku spoke once more, this time to the Schnee's, his voice hard.

"I am taking Weiss away from here. She does not deserve to be here."  
Jacques's white skin began to redden as he began to grow angry. Despite the harsh look Goku was giving him, he was able to sputter out, "What?! Are you mad? Why would I let you do that?"

Goku's face grew even harder. "You are her father, right? Yet you treat her like you hate her! I don't care what she may have done or what you think she has done but no parent should treat their children like that!"

Jacques recoiled from the words, but he didn't lose his edge quite yet. "This is such nonsense! Weiss! Get over her and I shall forgive you for your past grievances. Just get away from that peasant!"

He beckoned Weiss to come over, trying to give her a fatherly smile. Weiss didn't move. She just stared blankly, unable to make up her mind. Then she felt her cheek where her father had struck her, and she set her jaw. She faced her father once more, determination and anger on her face.

"No," she said coldly, "I'm going with Goku."

Jacques froze, his smile melting and being replaced by an ugly grimace.

"I said, come here girl," he said, his voice calm but etched with fury.

"No," she repeated, even more determinedly.

Jacques dropped his arm. Without saying a word, he reached for his scroll once more.

"You dare disobey me girl! After all the wealth I have exposed you to! Then so be it! You will rot in prison along with your peasant friend and filthy butler!"

He raised his scroll, about to make some arrangements but was stopped suddenly as a powerful wave of energy burst outward from Goku, cracking his scroll along with the floor beneath him. The windows lining the wall shattered, the chandelier hanging from the ceiling fell and the vermouth bottle that Weiss's mother was holding broke, spilling alcohol all over her.

At the center, Weiss stood next to Goku, completely unharmed by his wave of energy, but staring at him with a mixture of awe and horror. Surrounding Goku was a white transparent energy, emanating so much power that Weiss could feel heat warm her up. It flickered angrily, reflecting the mood of its user and Weiss suddenly realized what she was seeing. It was Goku's aura.

"No," she thought, remembering what he had told her earlier, "Ki."

There was a brief silence following the display. On one side, Goku and Weiss stood with determined and angry expressions, though in Weiss case a bit of wonder in the mix. On the other side, the Schnee's stood, huddled away from Goku, terrified by his action.

Then alarms sounded all around as the Schnee Mansion's security system turned on. Through the broken windows, red lights began flashing all over the property, while staff members such as butlers, cooks and maids ran out of the mansion, screaming in panic.

"Hmmph, you fool," Jacques said, breaking out of his fear and smirking at Goku, "You have just alerted all the Atlas forces to this mansion. You will be apprehended within seconds!"

As he spoke, sirens wailed outside and the sound helicopter blades churning rose over the alarms. Weiss glanced outside to see a couple dozen squad vehicles pulling up to the mansion, deploying hundreds of heavily armed soldiers into the Schnee front lawn. In the sky, five massive war helicopters soared towards the building. From one of them, a voice on a loudspeaker began speaking and Weiss recognized it to be General Ironwood, leader of the army in Atlas and de-facto leader of the kingdom of Atlas.

"We have the entire complex completely surrounded! Do not resist and the soldiers will take you in without harming you! If you resist, we will use force!"

Downstairs, the entrance doors were slammed open and hundreds of footsteps could be heard heading up the stairs. Just then, Klein ran out of the side door, holding Weiss's weapon case. He sprinted over and handed it to her just as the first soldiers began charging into the dining room, relocating Weiss's mother and brother to a designated area. Jacques held up his hand, signaling he wanted to stay and watch the arrest, sneering all the while at Goku.

"My lady," Klein said hurriedly, "I have made sure to pack all your dust capsules with your weapons. I have also made sure to give you some cash, so you have money for the journey."

Weiss nodded and then realized that Klein wasn't carrying his things. "Wait, where are your things."

Klein smiled sadly. "I'm afraid I cannot go with you. It will slow you down."

Weiss choked out a sob. "No! I won't leave you!"

Around them, the soldiers surrounded them, held back only as Goku gave off another wave of energy, pushing them back.

Klein took Weiss's hands, tears in his own eyes. "I am sorry my little princess. I wish I could come. But your safety is my top priority."

Before Weiss could respond, he gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Farewell, my princess. Do the world right."

Weiss sobbed uncontrollably. Klein was about to turn away to distract the soldiers when Weiss embraced him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I will never forget Klein… I will come back for you!"

Klein smiled warmly. Then he turned to Goku and said, "Protect her please."

Goku nodded solemnly. He took ahold of Weiss, holding her around the waist and then crouched, his energy increasing.

"Hold on tight Weiss, this will be quite fast," he warned. Before Weiss could even ponder what, he meant, she felt her face get hit by a sudden blast of air as Goku launched himself off the floor and out the window. Behind him, Klein held off a couple guards, making sure they were away before being overwhelmed.

Goku flew quickly, his energy leaving a small trail behind him. As he flew, the helicopters surrounding the building aimed their guns at him and opened fire. Weiss shrieked, sure she was done for, but felt nothing hit her. Before any of the bullets could reach them, Goku's surrounding Ki dissolved as if it was highly concentrated acid.

The helicopters kept firing, slowing becoming aware that their barrage was quite ineffective. Goku, soared past the last helicopter and as Weiss looked over at it, for a split-second, she saw two familiar figures. General Ironwood and a tall regal woman in a white lieutenant's uniform and long silver hair. Winter Schnee, her older sister. They both were gaping at her and Goku, unable to give a command. But, as they flew by, Weiss shouted as loud as she could over the gunfire.

"GOKU IS SAVING ME!"

She highly doubted they would hear. She was battling with the sound of gunfire, helicopter blades, and the roaring wind. But she was certain that she saw Winter's face change from shock to understanding. Then her face disappeared as they flew further away, away from the Schnee Mansion and over the bright blue sea twinkling in the rising sun.

 **As Goku and Weiss escape the wrath of the Atlas army, the presence of Lord Frieza grows, gaining his own army and his right-hand man, Captain Ginyu, back to his side! With Goku's surge of power, he finally has a clue of the whereabouts of one his targets from his scouter! Can Goku and Weiss now escape the claws of Lord Frieza as well? Find out next time on Dragon Ball R!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: Hey guys and once again welcome back to another chapter of Dragon Ball R! Before we begin, I just want to address a good point made by a reviewer about Goku's strength compared to First Form Frieza. The thing is, unlike in the original, Goku will be much weaker since his healing time in the healing pod was interrupted and he was suddenly switched to another method of healing. I have made it so his body is unable to fully process the change correctly and as a result, still has some pains from the fight with Ginyu and does not gain a massive power boost after being fully healed. This is one of some changes I will be making to the narrative of the original series in Dragon Ball Z along with some in RWBY. In fact, from this chapter onward, the plot of this story will start to deviate from the plot of RWBY, though elements will still be there.**

 **Another thing is Nail. As we all know, in the cannon Piccolo fused with Nail. However, two different things happened in this story. In the first chapter, I explain that Nail actually lost his life to Frieza and the other is that Piccolo doesn't have time to find Nail before he is teleported, though it doesn't matter since he is now dead. Once again, a few changes to the narrative of Dragon Ball Z, which I am glad people notice so I can make sure to explain a bit more clearly if necessary.**

 **These elements to the story are both used by me to limit the some of the Z-fighters power earlier on and make the threat of First Form Frieza ever more potent. Of course, eventually they will all get stronger and force him to get serious, but for now they must figure out a way to survive long enough to do so. With that out of the way, I thank you guys so much for the reviews and the support and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

 **Last time on Dragon Ball R, Goku and Weiss have escaped the imprisonment of Weiss's father. Meanwhile, Frieza has been able to sense Goku's energy with his scouter and has sent his right-hand man, Captain Ginyu to sort out the situation. In other places, Yang and Vegeta have agreed to leave from home, in search of Ruby, Blake has run into her old friend from the White Fang during a meeting with her parents, and Team RNJR have agreed to a training regimen taught by Gohan and Krillin. Today: Tyrion Vs Team RNJR! Attack on Menagerie!**

* * *

It was early morning at the Xiao Long household, but it was already full of activity. Smoke floated out the windows as Tai made a hurried breakfast while Yang was upstairs taking a shower. Vegeta was grabbing all the necessary materials from the shed to put inside a small bag that would go with them, grumbling all the while that this wasn't a job suited for a prince.

Tai scrambled some eggs carefully, while checking the toaster to see that the bread was coming along well. His face was grim as he worked, but he had told himself that morning that he would not argue against Yang and would instead focus on making her the best breakfast she has ever had.

The toast popped out of the toaster and he grabbed it, ignoring the heat and placed them on two plates. Then he stirred the scrambled eggs some more till he was satisfied with their substance and placed a decent portion on each plate. As he did so, Vegeta walked through the door, his signature scowl present on his face.

"Where's the girl?" he asked gruffly, "Everything is ready. I told her I would not tolerate waiting."

Tai sighed, used to Vegeta's attitude. "In the shower. Once she gets in there you can't rush her. If there is one thing just as important as friends and family to Yang, it is how she looks when going outside. Especially her hair."

Vegeta looked appalled. "Looks!? We are not going to a banquet! This is ridiculous! I am going up there and dragging her downstairs now!"

Before Tai could stop him, Vegeta stormed up the stairs, muttering something about disgraceful ambitions.

In the shower, Yang hummed a tune as she delicately washed her hair with only the most efficient and expensive shampoo and conditioner. It was the only thing she had really laundered money on and she was thankful for it every time she washed her hair.

She was in a great mood. She was finally going to go out in the world once more, fighting Grimm like a real Huntsmen and maintain the peace! Not to mention finding her little sister Ruby and giving her a nice slap on the head for leaving without a word before giving a great big hug. Along with all of this, Yang was also kind of excited to travel with the likes of Vegeta. Though he was rude, violent and way too prideful for his own good, his training was helping her get stronger. Besides, if things got hairy for whatever reason, she was sure he could easily dispel the problem.

Yang was thinking all of this, a smile plastered on her face when the door to the bathroom was grabbed and thrown off it's hinges. She screamed, desperately trying to grab the towel nearby as Vegeta marched in.

"Girl! Get out and get changed!" he yelled, grabbing her still naked, and slinging her over his back. She continued to scream and punch his back as he carried her and tossed her into her bedroom.

"Change!" he ordered fiercely before walking back downstairs.

Yang sat on the floor, stricken with shock at what just happened. The crazy Saiyan had barged in on her showering and then proceeded to man handle her while she was naked and then throwing her into her room, forcing her to change!

She felt her hair and felt it was smooth and curly, just like always. She sighed, at least thankful that she had been able to do her hair and walked to the drawer and got dressed into her old Huntsmen uniform, throwing on a jacket for extra measure.

When she came downstairs, she saw Vegeta and Tai sitting around the dining table, the former devouring his breakfast. If Yang had to describe anything comical about Prince Vegeta, it was probably how he ate every time like it was his last meal.

She sat down at her seat and quietly ate her breakfast as well, avoiding her father's gaze when he asked her if she was alright.

Vegeta, finishing his breakfast within a few minutes, stood up and left the table quietly, heading outside. As usual, he did not clean up after himself and Tai sighed as he cleaned up his plate.

"You got everything?" he asked Yang as he cleaned Vegeta's dish, wanting to have some sort of conversation before she left. She nodded in response, continuing to quietly eat.

"Did he… barge in?" Tai asked tentatively? Yang slammed her fork on the table angrily, got up and stormed out of the house, muttering angrily, leaving a very confused and concerned Tai.

Outside, she met Vegeta leaning on her bike, Bumblebee, his eyes closed in apparent concentration. When she saw him leaning on her bike, her anger only rose.

"Get off Bumblebee!" she commanded, scooting the bike away, "And next time, when you need someone to hurry up in the shower, ask from behind the door instead of crashing inside!"

Vegeta didn't respond, his eyes still closed. She marched right up to him and glared in his face.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"Kakarot…," Vegeta said unexpectedly, his face tightening. Yang stopped, recognizing the name.

"That's that guy you said was weak for caring for his friends and family, right? What does he have to do with anything?"  
Vegeta opened his eyes, his face grim. He looked at her for a second, contemplating what he should say.

"Yes. I just sensed his energy fluctuate higher. In fact, he isn't even trying to hide it."

Yang was now completely lost. "Sensed him? Energy fluctuating? What are you talking about?"

"Never mind that," Vegeta hissed, "I'm trying to concentrate."

Yang was about to ask on what he was concentrating on but decided to keep her mouth shut. It was too early in the morning to get an entire lecture about the many powers that the Saiyans possessed.

In Vegeta's case, he went back to his musings. Ever since he had sensed the increase of energy from Goku, two main thoughts had come into his brain. One was that Goku's power was not much stronger then when he had last sensed back on Namek. This was odd for Vegeta since he knew that Saiyan biology allowed a Saiyan to grow stronger every time they almost died, which had happened to Goku when dealing with the Ginyu force. But, if that were so, why was he still relatively the same strength as he was before? Granted, to Vegeta's great annoyance, his power was still on par with his. But it was still not enough to challenge Frieza. After mulling over why the power had not increased, Vegeta decided that since Goku was a low-class warrior, he did not get to abuse that power up. That made Vegeta feel much better, believing that Goku had now reached his full potential, while he was just beginning to tap into his.

Unfortunately, he couldn't stay happy for long because of the other concern he had thought of since sensing Goku's energy. Ever since coming to this world, Vegeta and the others had hidden their power levels as to not be located by Frieza. However, with this burst of energy from Goku, would Frieza sniff him out and eventually the others with him? Vegeta tried to push the thought out of his head, but it lingered in the back of his mind.

Presently, he felt Goku's energy begin to fade until it was concealed once more.

"Maybe the fool realized?" Vegeta said to himself, but he didn't think on it much. He had other things to deal with besides babysitting Goku's power level.

Tai came out of the house, carrying a small bag with food and water. He handed it to Yang, smiling sadly as he prepared to say farewell. But before he did, Yang asked him a strange question.

"Dad? Where's mom?"

Tai and Vegeta looked at Yang, surprised at the question. It just so happened that while Vegeta was speculating about Goku and his power level, Yang had focused on her plan to get to Ruby. What she had settled on was locating their uncle, Qrow Branwen, who she knew was following Ruby and her friends as they journeyed and to do so, she needed her mother to perform an ability that she recalled her father telling her about.

Now she looked at Tai, her eyes staring into his as she let the question hang, waiting for a response. Tai shifted nervously, hoping that the question would not come up. The one thing he had been grateful for when Yang had told him he was leaving was that she wasn't chasing after her mother, a desire she had held since her mother had left them at a young age.

"Well Yang…," Tai began, not meeting her eyes, "I don't think you should-"

"I need to," Yang interrupted forcefully, "To find Ruby, I need mother."

Vegeta now turned to look at her. "Why is that? You want to waste time seeing your whole family?"

Yang shook her head. "No. I need her because she has a way to take me straight to my uncle, who is following Ruby."

Tai sighed heavily. "I really regret telling you that, you know?" Then he sighed once more and looked at Yang.

"She will be with her bandit tribe. Don't ask exactly where because I have no idea. But somewhere near Mistral on the continent of Anima."

He stopped, and Yang nodded him to go on. "Uhh, that's it really. I have no idea other than that."  
Vegeta grunted. "Hmmph, not very useful, are you?"

Yang however just smiled. She pulled her father into a hug, which he returned happily. They broke apart quickly, fearing that if they stayed together any longer, it would become too hard. Even then, they both were already teary eyed.

"Please, be safe Yang," Tai pleaded. Then he turned to look at Vegeta. "If something happens, will you protect my daughter?"

Vegeta didn't respond. Instead he just climbed on the back of the motorcycle and closed his eyes. Tai rolled his eyes, wondering why he had even bothered.

Yang hopped on Bumblebee, starting the engine. It caught easily, and the steady sound of the exhaust resonated from the bike. Yang looked up at her father one final time, smiling broadly.

"I will come back to you."

Tai nodded, his face also breaking into a smile as Yang revved the motorcycle and drove out onto the pathway leading away from her home with Vegeta sitting calmly on the back.

As they drove down the dirt path, Yang called back to Vegeta. "Hey, I never asked you, but what are the chances of meeting your Saiyan buddy on our trip?"

Vegeta didn't say anything for a few seconds and Yang thought he hadn't heard her. She was about to ask again when his response came over the wind.

"I can't tell. It depends on where we are going and where he is. However, I am less concerned about meeting him."

"What do you mean by that?" Yang asked, perplexed by his response.

"I am more worried about running into Frieza," he replied coldly, washing Yang in a cold feeling she did not appreciate. She shivered, shaking her head.

"Let's hope not. Though at the same time," her coldness suddenly warmed with a wave of anger, "I kinda want to see him so I can beat the crap out of him for what he did to Beacon."

"You will die."

Vegeta's response was so cold and matter of fact that Yang's anger immediately died away, replaced once more by the cold terror she had felt when she had first heard about the tyrant.

"Tell me honestly," she said suddenly, a horrible thought coming to her as the terror washed over her, "What are the chances of defeating him?"

The silence that followed was all she needed to answer her question. She continued to drive Bumblebee towards the dockyards on Patch, wondering just what this new adversary had in store for them.

* * *

Blake lay on her bed in her room, wide awake and staring at the ceiling. Downstairs, she heard her father loudly asking questions of the intruder they had found eavesdropping. As she listened, her annoyance rose for the hundredth time.

After her childhood friend and White Fang member, Ilia the chameleon faunus had been sensed out by Piccolo, her father had ordered Blake to her room. Surprised and angered, she had asked why to which her had father answered coldly, "Until I know she isn't able to cause any damage, I will not let my daughter near her and under the risk of being blown up by a bomb!"

Before Blake could argue against the ridiculousness of what he had said, he ordered Sun and Piccolo to take her upstairs, lock her in her room and guard the door. Even Kali had been appalled at that. She tried to calm down her husband, saying that Blake was old enough to make her own decisions on the matter, but Ghira was having none of it. Once again, he ordered Sun and Piccolo to take her to her room, to which they complied reluctantly, Sun saying it was ridiculous and Piccolo only doing so because he wanted to get to interrogating the intruder as quickly as possible.

Blake had not gone up quietly. She had struggled and kicked, trying to pull out her weapon and in the process, she punched Sun a couple of times in the face. However, Piccolo just simply grabbed her and effortlessly carried her upstairs, Sun following as he nursed his face.

Now, almost an hour later, Blake was still in her room with only the yelling of her father downstairs to keep her company. Of course, she understood the basis of her father's argument. But at the same time, she was infuriated at being treated as child. She had come all this way to convince them to help her fight against the White Fang. They had listened to her, treating her like an adult and agreeing with her. Then when a spy had been uncovered, instead of letting her participate and take charge, they had instead decided that her place was locked in her room, safe from the possible threat of a close-range bomb.

She buried her face in her pillow, yelling into it with frustration. A knock on her door sounded and Sun poked his head inside, looking to see her face in the pillow.

"Uhh, hey there," he said, careful not to startle her, "You doing okay?"

Blake raised her head and gave him an annoyed look that clearly said, "Do I look okay?"

"Okay stupid question," he said, "Can I come in?"

Blake was tempted to tell him to get out, but instead she nodded, and he came in, quietly closing the door and standing awkwardly, glancing around the room.

"Nice room you got here," he muttered, trying to make conversation.

"What do you want Sun?" Blake said, not in the mood to hear pleasantries, "Can I finally go downstairs and do what I came here to do?"

"Well, not yet," Sun said scratching the back of his head, "But I spoke to your mother. She's on your side about this whole thing. Unfortunately, your father won't listen to her. She thinks that with everything going on all of a sudden, he panicked and wanted you away from the danger."

Blake rolled her amber eyes, her annoyance only growing. "Where's Piccolo?" She asked, trying to get her mind off her annoyance.

"Went downstairs shortly after got you here to watch the interrogation. Apparently, he wanted to try his own methods, whatever that means."

Blake nodded, absent mindedly. "And you?"

Sun grinned cheekily at her. "I have just been washing my cheek and applying some ointment your mother gave me. You really pack a punch."

Blake looked down, suddenly feeling a rush of guilt for her actions. Sun saw her reaction and quickly said, "Don't worry about it! It isn't too bad!"

Blake didn't raise her head. Sun approached her and sat next to her on the bed. He nervously patted her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"Look, I think your parents are just worried about you. You come for the first time in a while and are almost attacked by a spy. I think your dad sent you up here just because he got scared."

She turned to him, her face so depressed that it brought his mood down just by looking at it. "I have been thinking those same things Sun. But I come here ready to fight the White Fang. My dad knew that. So, I just can't see why…," she lapsed into silence.

Sun suddenly took her hand. She gasped slightly, resisting slightly but Sun stopped her with a sudden speech.

"Look Blake. No matter what your parents think about you, no matter what Piccolo thinks of you, I will follow and believe you against the White Fang without question. I know your determination, I know you're ready to do what is needed. Your dad may not see that yet or believe you can take care of yourself yet, but I do. You are not here because you are weak. You are here because you need to prove yourself!" Here Sun, grinned sheepishly, "Or just tell them that you are. Make sure your father understands that."

He ended his speech, looking at Blake still sporting a grin. At this point, she had stopped trying to remove her and was simply staring at him, his words touching her deeply. She blushed slightly and smiled gratefully at him.

"Thanks Sun. Thanks."

She squeezed his hand, causing him to blush as well, but his grin remained. They sat there, smiling and blushing at each other when suddenly the door to her room banged open.

The two jumped apart as Ghira, Kali and Piccolo stood in the doorway, staring at them. Ghira's face strained, glaring at Sun. Kali smiling sweetly, her eyes twinkling. Piccolo just crossed his arms, frowning.

"What were you doing?" Ghira asked suspiciously, advancing at Sun who looked terrified. Blake stepped in front of him quickly, her red blush turning into a scowl of annoyance.

"Nothing dad! What about Ilia?"

"Hold on Blake," Kali said slyly, "I want to hear what you guys were doing all alone and close together!"

They both blushed deeply, trying to respond. Ghira's suspicious glare darkened. However, Piccolo spoke out, his tone business like.

"You know what they were talking about. You were both listening in on them for the past few minutes," he turned to Blake, ignoring the scowls from the two Belladonna parents, "Come on, let's go downstairs. It seems our visitor is ready to talk."

Blake leapt up from the bed excitedly and began to dash for the door but Ghira put out a hand. She glanced at him, annoyance once again building but all she saw were the eyes of a concerned parent.

"I'm sorry Blake," he apologized, "I didn't mean to degrade you or anything. You are my daughter and I love you more than anything in this world. So, the prospect of you getting hurt…,"

Blake's expression softened. She turned to her father and wrapped her arms around his massive waist. He smiled and returned the hug, the others watching contently. When they broke apart, Blake face was determined once more.

"Alright, let's go see Ilia."

Ilia was currently tied up to a chair and under a bright lamp as if a detective had come in and interrogated her. When Blake saw her, she ran over and began checking her for injuries. Besides for a few bruises from when Piccolo had hit her to stop her escape, she was unharmed. Blake sighed in relief.

Though Ilia was part of the White Fang, she was an old childhood friend of Blakes. They shared many similar views about humans and faunus back in the day when Blake had also been part of the White Fang and they were a great team when fighting was involved. However, as the White Fang become more violent, Blake had begun moving away from it, trying to convince Ilia to do the same, saying that the faunus are going too far. Unfortunately, Ilia had rejected that idea, countering that maybe this is exactly what the faunus needed. Since then, they had not seen or spoken to each other. Until now.

Behind Blake, the others stood straight and attentive, with Ghira looking like he would pounce forward at any moment.

Blake finished examining Ilia and looked into her face. Her mask had been taken off during the prior investigation, so her eyes stared back into Blakes.

"Blake, what are you doing here?" Ilia asked, surprising Blake by taking the initiative. Blake gulped a little, but her face did not convey her anxiety as she answered calmly, "I will be asking the questions Ilia."

Ilia just shook her head sadly at that. "You can try what you want Blake. I won't talk. You know how it is with us. Your green friend tried a few times and all he was able to get was my name and that I was part of the White Fang, which I believe is obvious enough."

Piccolo grunted, taking a step forward but Blake held a hand up for patience, not turning away from Ilia. "Yes, that may be true, but I know you Ilia. Better than most. I don't want to use that against you, but I will need you to comply."

She stared down at Ilia, her face hard and set but her eyes becoming sad and wistful. Ilia turned, away feeling her pulse quicken. She never liked when people gave her the sad eyes. It always made her uncomfortable.

She was about to say once more that she would not say anything when Piccolo grunted once more, turning their attention to him, Blake looking aggravated by the interruption.

"Do you mind Piccolo?" she hissed at him.

Piccolo shot her a scathing look. "Oh, don't mind me then. It's not like I have her little device that probably has all the information we need on it."

"Thank you Piccolo… wait what?!" Blake sprang up staring at Piccolo in amazement as he took out a scroll from his robes. Behind her, Ilia gasped, trying to feel her pockets. Piccolo smirked.

"You were all going about how I couldn't get anything out of you girl, but when you didn't notice, I did swipe this off of you. I didn't say anything until I was sure you really wouldn't talk. Though now that I think about," he scowled once more, though it seemed to be directed at himself, "I probably should have just read it right away and saved myself a lot of time."

Sun clapped him on the back. "Well done big guy! With her scroll, this will be a cinch!"

Ghira nodded. "Quite so. Though I can understand the want of not digging into someone's privacy unless given no other choice."

Piccolo nodded. Then he turned to Blake and tossed her the scroll. She caught it, almost fumbling it with her anticipation, and opened it to search the contents. She looked through many files until she happened upon a few day-old messages between Ilia and Fennec, one of the fox faunus from before. Their conversation was short, but as Blake read her eyes began to widen.

Ilia: What news Fennec?

Fennec: Have you arrived in Menagerie yet?

Ilia: Yes, I am staying out of sight. I don't understand why you needed to send a few troops with me though.

Fennec: Caution is important. Now as for news, I do have an order from Adam for you.

Ilia: What is it? I will do what must be done for the faunus.

Fennec: I like your spirit! Now your assignment is of the upmost importance. You must spy and gather information from the Belladonna family.

Ilia: I thought that was you and your brothers' job.

Fennec: We only serve as ambassadors between them and the White Fang as to make sure their trust in us is still strong. But, rumor has it that their daughter is on her way.

Ilia: You mean Blake?!

Fennec: Yes, the very same and she has compromising information about the White Fang and its new intentions which have not reached the faunus of Menagerie yet.

Ilia: I understand, I will keep an eye on her and her family.

Fennec: That's not all. Adam has requested her capture if she does appear. He wants her to be brought to him alive. Anyone she is with, including her family is disposable.

Ilia: Understood. But how am I going to capture her with her parents around? Her father used to be Supreme High Leader of the White Fang.

Fennec: Me and my brother will provide you with assistance if necessary. For now, focus on locating Blake and securing her. Do it for the good of the fuanus.

Ilia: For the good of the faunus.

Fennec: Oh, I almost forgot! The plot to overthrow Sienna Khan is almost ready. Adam will soon overtake the throne as the new Supreme High Leader.

Ilia: That is good news. A change in leader will help our cause.

Fennec: Indeed. Now go carry out your mission. For the good of the faunus.

Ilia: For the good of the faunus.

Blake stared horrified at the scroll. The others noticed her expression and came to her to check on her. She handed them the scroll to read, looking down at Ilia with the same horrified expression.

"Adam is plotting to overthrow Sienna Khan? And you were ordered to capture me and kill my family?"

Ilia didn't respond, unable to return her old friends gaze. Behind Blake; Sun, Ghira and Kali looked just as horrified by the message, the two men looking angry as well. Piccolo's expression just grew colder as he read, trying to control the urge to blast Ilia with a Ki blast.

"I'm sorry Blake…," Ilia said at length, looking at Blake with tears forming in her eyes, "I didn't want to hurt you or your family. I swear! But Adam… he…," she couldn't bring herself to finish. Despite Blake's anger and fear, she understood. Adam Taurus was not one to take disobedience lightly.

Sun glared at Ilia for another second before turning to Blake. "Alright, what do we do with her? We have the info we need."

Blake pondered that, but Ghira then answered for her. "We first must warn the faunus of Menagerie. Tell them about the true nature of the White Fang and how they must not be trusted if more arrive. If we can tell them now, we can avoid a massive catastrophe."

Just as he finished saying this, the ground shook suddenly. The sound of drop ship engines began filling the air followed by a roar of marching footsteps. And then gunfire.

* * *

The town looked as bleak as the weather. As Team RNJR, Gohan, Krillin and Dende entered their next pit-stop, they glanced around nervously.

The town was a simple enough village, common between the great cities of the kingdoms. However, it had evidently been through hard times. The buildings were clearly abandoned and falling into disrepair. The side walk was dotted with growing weeds that tripped the company as they walked. But, if there was one word to describe the place, it would probably be grey. The whole town looked as if it had drained the greyness of the now dark clouds above.

As they walked slowly through, they jumped at the creaking of wood and chirping of birds. Even the newcomers from Namek, despite having experienced much worse, were on edge, straining their minds to sense for any incoming energy.

"Well," Ruby said at present, "Could be worse. At least there aren't any Grimm around."

"Yet," Ren warned, "This village obviously was overrun at one point. Stay on your guard."

They all agreed and continued forward, searching for a place to take shelter in for the night. Not much looked promising. Finally, Gohan pointed to a small decently intact house a few yards away.

"It looks cozy enough."

His companions hesitated, though they had to agree that it was probably the best place they had seen since entering the town. They headed towards it, weapons out and guards on high alert. But nothing jumped out at them as they reached the house, and nothing burst through the door as Juane pried it open and led everyone inside.

The inside of the house made the outside look positively delightful. Furniture was thrown across the floor. Cloth, feathers and wool covered the ground as if torn violently from something. A door to the basement was thrown off its hinges along with a few chairs and tables that had evidently served as a barricade. The kitchen was in chaos. Dried and rotten food lay smoldering all around while all the cupboards had been torn apart, spilling their contents of pots, pans, dishes, cups and other kitchen tools all over. There was an upstairs but halfway up, the staircase had collapsed, leaving a gaping hole between the bottom and the top.

As the company stood in the doorway, digesting the sight before them, the smell hit their noses. A smell of rotting flesh and dried blood.

"Alright," Jaune said, clearly trying to keep his voice level and calm, "Maybe we should try a different house."  
"I doubt we would find much better buddy," Krillin said, his face serious, "I am pretty sure the whole town is like this. We might as well make do with this."

Dende shivered. "I feel… the presence of death."

No one answered. They were all thinking the same thing. Then Nora broke the silence and tried for a smile, though it came off forced.

"Well no use just standing here. Let's get some rest. We can get out of here early tomorrow."

No one argued with that sentiment and they slowly went deeper inside, making sure not to step into anything unsavory. They made their way to the living room which, apart from the thrown around furniture, was not too bad. The smell there was less potent and there was no sign of blood on the walls or floor.

They began to place their few belongings on the floor and sit down next to them, suddenly feeling quite groggy. They had walked the entire day and had only stopped for the short arm-wrestling contest between Gohan and Nora.

Jaune then got up, claiming he had to use the restroom and left the room to find it. The others were all just getting comfortable when Jaune came back, sooner than expected, his face slightly flustered.

"Umm, the bathroom has caved in. It was under the staircase…"

The others, especially Ruby and Nora, reddened deeply. Ruby said awkwardly, "Just go outside. Nature calls you know."

Jaune's face grew even redder but he nodded and turned to leave, the others hearing him walk towards the door and opening it.

"Good thing he told us actually," Ren said as they began to get themselves comfortable again, "Now we know just to go outside right away."

The others nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Gohan and Krillin tensed their eyes widening. Then they leapt up from their spots and dashed for the door.

"What?" Ruby questioned, amused by the situation, "Did you guys need to go badly as well?"

Gohan's response wiped the grin off her face. "An energy signal is approaching fast!"

That got the others moving. Soon, the entire company had crashed out of the house, weapons drawn and looking around frantically. A few feet away, Jaune jumped in surprise, zipping up his pants and looking mortified.

"God! Be careful! You almost-"

"No time Juane," Nora said, tossing him his sword, "We have company."

They all walked out onto the street, looking around carefully for any sign of the intruder. Gohan and Krillin were still locking on to the energy. It kept bouncing around quickly, as if the person was jumping around erratically.

Then, just as they seemed to think that maybe it wasn't a threat, a gun shot rang out sharply. Ruby cried out, dropping her scythe and holding her leg which was now shrouded in her aura. A trickle of blood ran down her knee and into her boot as a bullet fell to the floor before her. Thankfully the aura had taken the brunt of the damage, but it had still been strong enough to cause some damage.

"RUBY!" Jaune cried, rushing toward her. However, Krillin suddenly sprang forward in front of him, parrying a second bullet as it raced for Jaune. Team RNJR stared in awe at the monk as he stood there, determinedly looking at a spot a few hundred feet away. Gohan too was looking there, while telling Dende to take cover in the house.

Team RNJR followed their gaze and saw their opponent. A man in white clothes, long black hair and a scorpion tail.

"Hello there, boys and girls," giggled Tyrion, his crazed eyes fixed on the group, "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

* * *

Adam Taurus stood on one of the dropships flying over Menagerie, surveying the carnage below. White Fang members, no wait, Frieza Force members stormed the streets, killing indiscriminately. No one was safe. Men, women and children. They were all to be killed by the end.

However, unlike other attacks where Adam would be jubilant about striking fear into the hearts of humans, he felt great anguish. Of course, there was nothing he could do about it. He had been ordered to see to this attack on Menagerie by none other than Lord Frieza himself. As the screams of faunus reached his ears, he closed his eyes and thought back to his conversation with the emperor.

It had been only a few hours after Captain Ginyu had left with a group of soldiers to Atlas at the command of Frieza. As far as Adam could tell, the device on his ear had told him about the location of one of his targets.

Since then, Frieza had sent off a few other raiding groups to terrorize certain places and to bring them under his control. Then, he lapsed into silence, sitting on his throne and pondering things that Adam could not and did not want to guess. However, it seemed the perfect time to give him a small gift to prove his loyalty.  
"My lord, if I may?" he had asked, bowing deeply. Frieza did not turn his head, but his pupils had moved across his eyes to stare at him. He said nothing for a moment before simply nodding his head.

Adam had reached into his pocket and pulled out a brand-new mobile scroll. Once Frieza had taken control, he had ordered it made for him, so he could have some technology from the new world he was conquering. He handed it to Frieza, still bowed.

"Hmm," Frieza mused, turning the small rectangular device in his hands. He tapped the display and the device extended slightly and turned on, showing the home screen.

"I have already set it up for you and added the scroll numbers of all your captains and commanders including myself and Haz-," he stopped, correcting himself, "I mean Ginyu, to which I have given one as well."

Frieza said nothing, flicking through the many functions on the scroll. He looked through the contacts, finding Captain Ginyu's number. He pressed it and watched curiously as the scroll began calling the number. Within a second, Ginyu picked up.

"Lord Frieza!" Ginyu's voice called out of the scroll, "Is everything alright! Is there a new order?!"

"No Ginyu," Frieza assured calmly, "Just testing out this new gadget to see if it really is worth my time. And I must say, I am quite impressed. They may not be as good as scouters, but since I only have one, these will be a fine substitute as communicators. Carry on with your mission Ginyu."

"Wait Lord Frieza," Ginyu said suddenly, "If it pleases you, I can give you a status report on the mission."

"Oh, is that so?" Frieza smiled cruelly, "Well then, what is your report Captain?"

"We have located the coordinates of where the power signature was. Apparently, it was in some big mansion full of a sort of army," Ginyu snorted smugly for a second, "The army was no trouble at all. I was able to stun them with my might and poses!"

He paused for a moment and both Frieza and Adam were sure he was taking the moment to strike a victory pose. Frieza coughed impatiently. "Ginyu?"

"Ah yes, sorry Lord Frieza," Ginyu said apologetically before continuing, "Our new army didn't do too badly themselves. They aren't the greatest fighters and they were quite outmatched in many ways by the opponent. But their drive to serve you well was able to bring them victory along with my command and fabulous attacks!"

"That's all well and good Ginyu," Frieza said, his face hardening into a scowl, "But what about my victim?"

Adam heard Ginyu inhale sharply, hearing the hard edge in Frieza's voice. "My… my lord. We were unfortunately unable to locate him. He must have flown off and hidden his power from your scouter."

The throne room began to shake slightly, and Adam backed away, his terrified eyes fixed on Frieza who was now shrouded in a purple energy. Adam saw his mouth clenched hard and the veins on his temple bulge as his fury rose.

Evidently, Ginyu could tell that his masters rage was rising because he quickly said, "But we do have some hostages that may have some information about him! Two of them seem to be commanders of the army we took out. The others are the rich idiots that lived in this mansion along with their fat butler. We were just about to interrogate them."

Frieza's anger subsided slightly, but his face was still hard as he said, "Make sure I can hear the interrogation. I cannot see unfortunately but I must know the information myself!"

Adam then stepped up, hoping to help. "My lord, there is a function to see the other person through the scroll. We call it a face to face call."

Frieza turned, his eyes narrowing. "And how do I activate this face to face call?"

Adam showed him how he could tap the screen and bring up the call options and which one brought up face to face. Frieza did so, telling Ginyu to do the same. Sure enough, Ginyu's face appeared in the screen, his head already bowed towards Frieza.

"My lord, it is a pleasure to see you in good health!"

Frieza waved away the comment. "Of course, I am Captain. Now, the hostages, show them to me."

Ginyu turned to look at someone off screen, snapping his fingers as he did so. Frieza and Adam heard some footsteps followed by some scuffling. Then they saw a group of tied up people dragged into view. As Ginyu had said, a man and a woman had military fatigue on\ while the others were wearing expensive looking suits and dresses. Their heads were all bowed.

"Ginyu, bring the device closer. I want to interrogate them personally."

Ginyu complied, bringing the scroll up to face of the man in military clothes. The man looked up into Frieza's eyes, his own filled with anger.

"What… do you think… you're doing?" he stuttered, clearly in pain from the treatment he had received during the battle. In response to this, Ginyu suddenly struck him hard across the face, leaving an angry red mark on his face. The man gasped, blood trickling down his cheek.

"That's enough Ginyu," Frieza ordered. Ginyu backed off, but his eyes were still fixed on the hostage as Frieza asked his first question.

"Who are you? All of you."

"General… Ironwood. General of the Atlas forces," General Ironwood responded, still gasping from Ginyu's hit, "Next to me is my lieutenant Winter Schnee. Beside her is her family, owner of the Schnee Dust Company. And the last one must be their butler."

"Good," Frieza said, an eloquent smile touching his face, "Now let us get straight to business shall we 'General'." He said the title with mock authority, making Ironwood wince in suppressed anger.

"By what my subordinate has told me, you were engaged in a battle just now before my troops came. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Ironwood confirmed, "Your faunus troops massacred mine! Are you the new leader of the White Fang!?"

Ginyu made to strike him once more but Frieza spoke sharply, "No Ginyu! You will not lay another hand on our hostages until I say so," then he turned his attention back on Ironwood, "As for you, this White Fang you speak of is no more. I have taken it over for myself and rebranded it into a new and more glorious title. The Frieza Force commanded by me, Lord Frieza."

Ironwood stared at him, unable to fully comprehend what he was saying. The entire White Fang taken over? Before he had time to continue pondering however, Frieza continued his questioning.

"Now, I need only one simple piece of information from you and then I promise I will release all of you," his smile curled in an evil fashion and his red eyes flashed menacingly, "Was there a surprisingly powerful man around when you were doing your silly little raid?"

Ironwoods disbelief only grew larger at this question. He had no idea how this Lord Frieza knew about that man, but it only made him more afraid. However, he also needed to get himself and the other hostages out of this predicament.

"Yes, there was one man. He was wearing martial arts clothes and had black spikey hair. He was able to hold off my forces effortlessly before he flew away from the battle," for a second his eyes darted to his lieutenant and they seemed to have a silent agreement before he continued, "That is all I know."

He watched as Frieza sat back in his throne, mulling over the new information. After what seemed like an eternity, his smile broadened.

"Very well, your insight has been much appreciated. As promised, I shall release you," he then motioned to Ginyu, "Form a firing squad and execute them here against the wall."

Ironwood started, fighting against his bonds, glaring at Frieza. "What!? You said you would release us!"

Nearby, the Schnee family began panicking. Whitley was crying profusely, saying how he was too young to die. Jacques was trying to bribe the Frieza soldiers and Frieza himself, saying he would give them as much as wealth as possible. His wife was pleading for one last bottle of alcohol. Only the butler, Klein, and Winter were silent, looking down grimly as they were pushed up against the wall. They were at least thankful that no information about Weiss had been given and if they would die, it would be knowing her whereabouts were safe from the psychopathic ruler.

Frieza just laughed at all the pleas for mercy, his smile becoming more and more sadistic as he stared into Ironwood's angry expression. "Yes, I did say I would, and I am doing just that. Releasing you from your worthless bodies!"

Ironwood tried to respond but a Frieza soldier grabbed him roughly and shoved him against the wall next to all the others. The soldiers cocked their weapons and pointed them at the hostages, awaiting Frieza's signal.

"Commence," he simply said, and the soldiers let loose a short barrage of bullets. The screams of pain and anguish were loud and piercing but also over quickly as the hostages slumped to the floor, blood smeared on the wall and floor.

Adam stepped backward, trying to control his breathing as the Frieza soldiers began taking away the bodies. Frieza noticed his change, looking towards him with his smile beginning to crumble. Before he could say anything though, Ginyu came into view on the scrolls screen.

"What are our orders my lord?"

Frieza turned back to him, "Search the area thoroughly. While I'm pretty sure he flew off somewhere far from here, I cannot locate him with the scouter anymore. Just to be safe, make sure he hasn't holed up somewhere nearby."

Ginyu bowed, posing quickly. "As you command my lord. What about the citizens of the city?"

Frieza smiled devilishly. "Oh, you may kill them as you like, though make sure to ask a few of them about our targets whereabouts."

Ginyu imitated the smile. "As you wish Lord Frieza."  
"You are dismissed Ginyu," Frieza said and with that he shut off the scroll and placed it to his side. Then returned his gaze to Adam, his eyes narrowing. Adam felt them scanning him for weakness, which he knew he had already begun to pick up on.

"You are quite the squeamish little animal, aren't you?" he said eventually, his lips twisting into a smile, "Or is it a lack of loyalty for your new ruler?"  
Adam scrambled to find the right words. "No of course not! I am forever loyal to you my lord!"

Frieza chuckled coldly, standing up and facing Adam directly.

"Ah, the many times I have heard that line. Only to be proven wrong."

His eyes bore into Adam's and raised his finger, pointing it directly at the bull faunus.

"Please wait, my lord," Adam pleaded desperately, "I will do anything to prove my loyalty! Anything!"

He didn't expect Frieza to listen. The emperor very rarely listened to mercy. But, to his great surprise and relief, Adam noticed Frieza lower his hand. The relief disappeared however when he saw the cruel expression on his face.

"Anything you say?" Frieza seemed to be playing with an idea that he found very amusing. Then he pointed to a small table a few feet away that had the map of Remnant laying on it.

"Retrieve the map for me," he ordered, and Adam quickly got up, almost tripping over himself, and returned to him holding the large map of Remnant.

"Lay it on the floor," Frieza commanded and Adam complied. Then he stared down at the map for a few seconds, contemplating. Adam was just beginning to hope that he may have somehow convinced him he was loyal when Frieza's next question came.

"Where were you born?"

Adam shuddered. He slowly pointed to the small island of Menagerie. Frieza's smile widened even more and his eyes twinkled with malice.

"Tell me about it."

"Well," Adam spoke shakily, trying not to panic, "It is a small island that serves as a sanctuary for faunus. It is considered by many to be a paradise and for faunus it is just that. It is the only place on Remnant only inhabited by faunus."

Frieza considered his words for a moment. Then he turned around and took a seat on his throne. He beckoned Adam over and he stumbled towards him.

"You said that you would do anything to prove your loyalty to me," Frieza began maliciously, sending a cold wave down Adam's spine, "So here is how you will prove it to me. You will take a battalion of troops, take a few of those air ships you have and take over that island in my name."

He then turned to him and Adam knew what his next command would be just by looking into his eyes.

"And make sure to eliminate everyone on the island."

Now Adam stood on the airship, overseeing the slaughter of thousands of faunus. His kind.

It pained him greatly. Not the concept of killing. It was, as Frieza had guessed correctly, the killing of what he held dear to him. The preservation of his own kind. But that was not important anymore. All it did was get in the way of what Frieza needed him to do.

"Adam!" the pilot called back to him, snapping him out of his memory, "We are approaching the Belladonna Mansion as requested."

"Very good," he said, his face suddenly contorting into an evil look that was disturbingly similar to his masters. If there was one thing he would enjoy out of this trip, it would be an opportunity to capture her.

* * *

In one of the many woods of Mistral, two figures were lying on the ground, breathing heavily.

Weiss was still gasping in sadness after being forced to leave her loyal servant Klein back in the hands of the Atlas military, where he could be getting all sorts of nasty treatment for his actions.

Meanwhile, Goku was clutching his chest, the pain still potent after suddenly spiking while he was flying over the ocean. It had been quite a hectic moment. They were smoothly flying, Goku even lowering the speed to make sure Weiss didn't feel uncomfortable from the wind when the pain abruptly pierced his chest. He had almost dropped Weiss to clutch his chest, that's how bad it was. Weiss had, of course, inquired what was wrong and he explained to her the sudden pain.

"Of course," she had exclaimed, slapping her hand over her forehead, "The doctor had said not to do physical activity. After keeping away those soldiers and now flying for a decent amount of time, your wound probably hasn't done too well."

They had desperately searched for a place to land, Goku struggling to keep flying despite the use of energy clearly hurting him. After what had seemed like hours, Weiss finally pointed to a stretch of densely wooded land dead ahead. Goku understood and raced as fast as he could towards it, ignoring the searing pain. Unfortunately, he had been unable to control their landing and when they reached the ground, he twisted himself to make sure he was below Weiss. His back crashed on to the earth and they skidded a few feet before finally coming to a stop, leaving a trail of dirt behind them.

Presently, after pushing down her emotions, Weiss got up, her weapon case still tightly in her grasp. She turned to Goku and suddenly realized how he had landed, trying to keep her safe.

She dashed towards him, kneeling down next to him. "Are you okay? Goku?"

Goku opened his eyes slowly and despite the pain and his crash landing, he gave her a cheerful smile.

"Yeah, not bad," he croaked, "You?"

Weiss giggled, wiping tears from her eyes. She offered Goku a hand and helped him to his feet. She looked at his back and was shocked to see that despite skidding through several feet of dirt, the martial arts clothing wasn't horribly damaged with only a few tears and patches of dirt sticking to it.

"I don't know how you do it Goku," she said in awe, "You crash landed into a forest, making sure to keep a girl safe by taking the brunt of the damage and you seem barely fazed."  
Goku chuckled a little, still holding on to Weiss. "Yeah, if anything that wasn't too bad," he then glanced down at his chest, "It's this that's really giving me trouble. I doubt I can do much for a little bit until this pain subsides."

Weiss nodded in understanding, positioning herself better so she could help him walk.

"Don't worry, we can lay low for a bit. Besides I don't really know where to go from here."

As they began to search for a place to rest at, Weiss helping Goku along as he clutched his chest, he asked through pained gasps, "Do you know where we are?"

"Judging by the direction we flew in and the ocean we flew over, both things I'm still coming to terms with by the way, I would say we are on the continent of Anima where the kingdom of Mistral is housed."

Goku nodded, though Weiss wasn't sure he really got what she was saying. Of course, she didn't hold that against him. The poor guy was dealing with some sort of internal damage that had probably done something to his energy, making painful to even use.

Suddenly, he tensed up, causing Weiss to drop him.

"Sorry!" Weiss cried out quickly, dropping down to help him up once more. Then she noticed his expression. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be concentrating on something. It was the same expression he had used back in the medical bay when he was sensing energies.

She was afraid to ask but she said tentatively, "Are you sensing something?"

"The place we just came from," he said, his voice edged with pain and anger, "A bunch of people just arrived and killed many others. The leader of the newcomers… no it can't be him…"

Weiss's eyes widened. Her thoughts began to race as she tried to imagine what was happening back in Atlas. "Did Frieza go there?"

Goku shook his head. "No not him… but it seems… his right-hand man is back in action. Captain Ginyu."

It took a moment for Weiss to remember that name. Then she recalled the reason why Goku was in such bad shape in the first place and it came back to her.

"Him?" she asked incredulously, "But didn't you tell me that you guys defeated him by tricking him into transforming into a frog or something."

Goku nodded. "Yeah we did. But I guess he was able to find a way to transform into another more useful body because that definitely is his energy I'm feeling. Probably already under the service of Frieza and is doing something diabolical for him."

"But why go to Atlas?" Weiss asked, "What could interest them there?"

"I don't know-," Goku began before he stopped, the realization of why hitting him as hard as if a train had smashed into him. He did know exactly why Ginyu was there. And it was all his fault.

Weiss must have noticed his expression change because she asked softly, "Everything okay?"

Goku looked up at her, seeing her concerned face looking down at him and he felt great guilt rise in him. For once, instead of helping to deter the enemies, he had attracted them like a flock of bees to honey.

"It was all my fault," he whispered gravely, "I used my energy too much and Frieza must have been able to locate me for a few seconds. He directed Captain Ginyu to go there, hoping to find me…," he didn't say anymore, unable to put the rest into words.

Beside him, Weiss slumped to the floor, her eyes fixed on him and her face slack with a mixture of terror and anger. Goku expected her to hit him, yell at him, leave him or do something to convey her rage.

Instead, he felt her arms around him. He felt her shaking and her sniffle as tears trailed down her eyes, but he did not feel any anger towards him. They sat like this for what seemed like hours, simply mourning. Eventually Weiss let go and gave Goku a serious look.

"I don't blame you Goku. You did what you needed to do to get us out of there. You can't blame yourself for doing the right thing. Even if…," she paused, trying to control her feelings, "If it comes with a price."

She tried not to imagine the kindly face of Klein smiling at her, telling her to go without him. She just hoped he was able to escape before Captain Ginyu had arrived.

Weiss got up, wiping tears from her eyes and once again helped Goku to his feet. "Come on, we need to find somewhere you can recover your strength."

Goku nodded and together they began to walk through the forest, looking for a good place. There weren't many good options. The ground was mostly level and there were few bushes to hide behind. Only large trees standing close together, making the forest look as dark as if it was already night time. The only comforting sound were the singing of birds that permeated the air as they trotted along.

They continued like this for a few hours until the sun had reached it's peak, signaling the time was now noon. They were just considering taking a rest where they were when Goku pointed to a nearby secluded hill with a small cave in its side, just big enough to fit about two people. They went towards it and Weiss made sure that Goku was carefully laid on the softest part of the cave before sitting down herself, breathing hard from all the walking.

She was about to ask Goku if he was feeling any better when she heard a loud snore right next to her. She turned to see Goku, fast asleep on the ground, a goofy smile on his face.

Weiss smiled. Despite everything that had happened, at least they were for the moment safe from harm. With that in mind, she laid her head down on the ground and was soon overcome by a dreamless sleep.

* * *

A few hundred miles away, Weiss old team leader was dealing with her own problems. Ruby and her friends stared up at their new opponent as he pranced about on the roof of a building, seemingly ecstatic about their appearance.

Ruby's leg was still bleeding from the shot and though her aura was beginning to heal the injury, she knew it would be a few more minutes before she could really run or fight. Few minutes which they not have. Then she suddenly felt a warm feeling on her leg and looked down to see Dende healing it, his energy casting a light glow over her leg. Within seconds, her leg was all better and she stood up, smiling down at the little Namekian.

"Thanks, Dende!" she said gratefully. Dende nodded smiling. Then another shot rang out and Gohan sprang in front of the two, blocking the bullet. His face was hard and determined as he stared down Tyrion who was laughing crazily once more.

"Oh, we have some quick ones, do we?" he cackled in delight, "I just wanted to shoot the little green one through the head! Is that too much to ask?"  
"This is one crazy guy," Krillin said, crouching in his fighting stance, "Though his long-range attacks don't seem to be the problem."

"I don't think he specializes in long-range," Gohan said, eyeing Tyrion's axeblades strapped to his arms, "I would be careful of that tail. It looks like a scorpion's and could hold poison like a scorpion."

Krillin nodded grimly and they both tensed getting ready to charge forward. Then, Ruby and Jaune stepped in front of them, their weapons drawn, and their faces set.

"Huh?" Krillin looked at them, confused, "What are you doing?"  
Ruby looked back at them and they both saw the pure steely determination in her silver eyes.

"We aren't gonna let you fight all our battles. This was our journey from the start and we must fight for it ourselves. We appreciate your strength, but we must pull our weight. Besides," she smiled briefly, showing a bit of excitement for the upcoming battle, "Consider this our first step in training. You can analyze our flaws and tell us how to improve!"

Jaune nodded beside her. Ren and Nora came up as well, their weapons drawn and looking just as determined. Gohan and Krillin exchanged nervous looks, but in the end, they nodded their ascent to the Huntsmen.

"Alright do your best," Krillin said, "But if it gets too hairy, we are going to step in."

The two jumped back and joined Dende on the sidelines, watching closely as the battle began. Tyrion laughed even more as the four teens stepped up to challenge him. He leaped from his perch on the roof and faced them, his tail curled towards them and his arms spread wide, showing off his dual axe-guns strapped to his wrists.

"I like this!" he exclaimed, looking at them with a manic gleam in his eyes, "I get to kill the silver eyed girl, out do that Cinder and please my queen!"

At the name, "Cinder", Team RNJR tensed visibly. Ruby's determined eyes flashed with rage and she charged forward, yelling a battle cry and commencing the fight.

Ruby ran forward with surprising speed and covered the distance between her and Tyrion within a matter of seconds. She slashed down with her scythe, aiming for Tyrion's shoulder. He dodged quickly and aimed his right arm at her, ready to take the shot. However, he was distracted by Ren who fired his own barrage of shots from his dual wielding pistols, forcing Tyrion to make some acrobatic jumps and twists to avoid the shots.

He finally jumped up onto a roof and, giggling all the while, used the roof as a jump pad to propel himself forward towards Ren, his axe blades poised. Before he reached him, Nora stepped in front, raising her hammer and using the long handle to block the oncoming attack. She braced her legs as Tyrion's arms slammed into the handle and she skidded a few feet back. Once she had stopped, she swiped her hammer and swung it down hard on Tyrion, who nimbly dodged and once more aimed, this time getting his shot off. But Nora used this chance to fire a grenade from the bottom of the handle and launch herself into the air, avoiding the attack and causing a distraction for Jaune, who was coming up behind the scorpion faunus. He slashed his sword, in an effort to slash Tyrion's back, but was blocked by his tail which had seemed to have stiffened to take the blow. As Juane struggled to slice through, Tyrion turned his head in an unnatural way to glance back at the boy, grinning devilishly.

He suddenly jumped backwards, over Jaune's head and landed on the other side of him. He quickly slashed his two axe blades in an X across Jaune's back, hitting the armor on the back but still doing a considerable amount of damage with the force. Jaune let out a cry of pain, falling to the floor, his aura crackling dangerously. Tyrion cackled sadistically, cocking his guns and preparing to fire on the fallen knights back. However, cries from Ruby, Ren and Nora made him turn to see all three of them heading towards him, the first two running and the last one falling downwards over him. He grinned wickedly and handled all three easily, using his tail to swipe across Ren while parrying Ruby's strikes easily and nimbly avoiding Nora's hammer as she brought down with a smash. He kicked Ruby backwards and punched Nora away, firing with his guns for greater impact and sending her sprawling. Ren tried to get up, but suddenly felt weak feeling the slash across his chest beginning to sting painfully. He looked down to see a stain of purple mix with the red of his blood.

"Poison," he muttered before collapsing onto the ground. Nearby, Jaune was still trying to get up, but was having trouble doing so as if his armor had grown heavier on his back. Nora was laying spread eagled on her back, her aura shattered from the close-range blast and her hammer laying a few yards away.

Ruby looked at her fallen comrades, panic beginning to overtake her anger. She tried to keep her hands from shaking as she watched Tyrion approach her menacingly, licking his lips and focusing his eyes on her.

"That was some brave fighting there," he slavered, his tongue making disgusting noises, "But, I am only interested in you girl."

Ruby raised her scythe, Crescent Rose, and fired the sniper attachment within. The high-powered dust bullet raced towards the mad faunus and stuck him in the shoulder, causing him to flinch and his aura to flare up angrily. She began firing off a few more shots, but Tyrion was ready now. He dodged with lightning speed, rushing towards her his arms poised to slash her to bits.

Ruby desperately fired, trying to land a shot on him. Then, her weapon clicked, signaling she had run out of bullets. She reached for some ammo, when she saw that Tyrion was now looming over her, his face staring into hers and his axes sweeping towards her neck. She closed her eyes, waiting for the end to come.

Instead, a metallic clang sounded. She opened her eyes to see a man in a white cloak and black pants standing before her, wielding a long sword with strange looking ridges along it. He was currently blocking Tyrion's axes, his eyes fixed on his opponent.

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed, shocked at his sudden appearance. It had been many months since she had last seen him, and their last talk hadn't ended too well with her stubbornly saying she would go on this journey. But now, she was so relieved and happy to see him, tears welled up in her eyes.

Qrow glanced behind him, grinning smugly at her. "Hey there squirt. Thought you could use some help."

He pushed Tyrion back, who did a few backflips before settling on a roof across from them. Ruby looked down, her happiness suddenly turning to guilt and shame.

"I was unable to do it myself…," she said quietly, her face contorting into frustration, "I had to be saved by someone! Krillin and Gohan are gonna be so disappointed with our result."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Qrow said, still smirking. Ruby looked up at him and suddenly saw that on either side of him stood Gohan and Krillin, looking up at Tyrion and ready for combat. A few feet away, Dende was rushing to each member of Team RNJR and healing them quickly, even getting rid of the poison coursing through Ren's veins.

"You guys did really well," Krillin said, not turning away from Tyrion, "He was just a little too fast and well equipped for your style of attack."

Gohan nodded. "Yeah. We will take it from here, but don't feel bad," here he smiled back at Ruby, "It's just like you said, we will improve those flaws and make you better!"  
She stared at him for a moment, still battling with guilt and shame in her stomach. Then she nodded smiling back at him and grabbed her weapon and rushed to her friends.

Tyrion followed her movements and made to go after her but was distracted as Gohan charged him, jumping up to him and launching a flurry of highspeed punches at him. At first, he was able to barely dodge the attacks, weaving in between the punches. Then, he made one small mistake and Gohan's fist drove into his arm. From there, he was subjected to a barrage of blows all over as Gohan continued his attack, finally finishing with a powerful downward kick, sending Tyrion crashing towards the ground.

He began to get up, trying to comprehend what was happening when Krillin's foot collided with his cheek and sent him flying into a nearby house, crashing through the window and raining glass and wood down upon himself.

For a second, there was silence apart from the creaking of wood planks falling from the collision. Then the door to the house was blasted open by a gunshot and Tyrion burst forth, his eyes now mad with rage and screaming a cry of hatred.

Before he could get further than a few yards, Qrow sprang to meet him, their weapons crossing once more. They both gritted their teeth as they fought against one another, trying to overpower the other. However, Qrow was only meant to distract Tyrion. From either side of the crazy faunus, Gohan and Krillin jumped towards him and simultaneously kicked him in the gut. Tyrion choked, buckling under the pain before another swift punch from Gohan sent him sprawling.

There he lay, panting, his aura depleted from taking so many powerful hits and his stamina gone. He looked up to see his three opponents staring down at him, glaring at him with contempt. His rage rose, and he hollered at them, "THIS ISN'T THE LAST YOU HAVE HEARD OF ME! OUR QUEEN SALEM WILL SOON DESTROY YOU ALL UNDER HER FOOT AND REIGN SUPREME OVER THIS WORLD!"

Qrow tensed at the name, "Salem", his face whitening slightly. Gohan and Krillin didn't' react, but stepped forward, causing Tyrion to scramble back a few feet.

"I don't know who your queen is," Gohan said, his voice etched with anger, "But you don't just come here and threaten to kill our friends!"

"That's right," Krillin said, his kindly face now stony and harsh, "You better get out of here, unless you want to continue getting a massive beatdown."  
Tyrion snarled at them both. Then he looked past them to see Ruby and the rest of Team RNJR watching the whole exchange. He cackled madly and called out to Ruby, "Oi silver eye! Your head will be presented to our queen soon enough!"

With that, he scrambled to his feet and scampered off into the woods, his tail between his legs and leaving the group alone in the decrepit town.

Qrow was still a bit white from hearing the name, but he was shaken from his thoughts when he was tackled by Ruby, who was happily hugging him. He chuckled and rubbed her hair affectionately.

"How you doin squirt?"

"A bit better now," she said smiling down at him. Behind her, Jaune, Ren, Nora and Dende walked up, grinning at the sweet reunion. Gohan and Krillin had also dropped their serious faces and were sporting their usual happy expressions.

After a few minutes of playful hugging, the two got up and Ruby introduced her uncle to the newcomers.

"This is Gohan, Krillin and Dende," she said, pointing to each. Qrow shook hands with all of them eyeing each of them curiously.

"You guys are quite tough aren't ya?" he asked, though it didn't seem like much of a question, "I don't see many guys that can pull off moves like those."

Krillin rubbed the back of his, grinning sheepishly. "Well, we are trained by some of the best."

Qrow nodded, still scanning each of them closely. Then he straightened and pulled out a small silver flask from his coat pocket.

"I dare say you guys are stronger than I am."

Team RNJR stared at him, stunned by his sudden claim. Ren asked, "How can you tell?"

Qrow took a swig from his flask. "When you're in the business long enough, you get to start recognizing people's strengths just by looking at them long enough. And these two," he pointed at Gohan and Krillin, "Are no joke. And while that little green guy has no power, he easily has the best healing abilities I have seen in my entire life. Not even high-tech Atlas medical gadgets gonna do what he did."

The three looked rather surprised to be receiving such high praise from a man they just met. They all bowed formally, whispering thanks for the compliments. Qrow waved them off, taking another swig.

"I just say it as I see it. Happy to have you lot around my niece, especially with the amount of trouble she gets into."

Ruby pouted and was about to make a retort when Qrow stepped on her words. "We should get going. There is a town not too far from here that is within reach of Mistral City operatives to come and take us to the city. However, it's still a decent walk away and we should try to cover as much distance as we can. Besides," and his face tightened, "I can tell you a bit more about the man that just tried to kill you."

* * *

The small train whistled loudly as the vehicle drove into the station, billowing smoke around the wheels. Once it had stopped completely, the doors opened and the only two passengers aboard stepped off, waving the smoke out of their faces.

They were in the Mistral City train station. A luxurious enough building with great statues of great Huntsmen that had trained at the academy located in the center or town. Most of the colors were gold and brownish red, giving a very autumn vibe.

The two companions walked towards the exit, still coughing from the steam. When they reached the large doors, they both gasped at what they saw.

The station was built on the side of a mountain, overlooking a gorgeous valley between several large mountains. Houses were built on the sides, using powerful wooden beams to keep themselves stable. A light mist covered the valley below, obscuring the center of the city, but giving the view from above an extra touch of beauty. The colors of the buildings reflected beautifully off of the rising sun, making the city look like it was the rising sun itself.

"Wow…," mouthed Bulma, cupping her hand over her eyes to better drink in the view, "It's gorgeous!"

"Yeah," Oscar said, just as breathlessly. Inside of him, Ozpin was silent, though he seemed to be looking upon the land and remembering the times he had here.

They stood there for a few more minutes, making sure to take in everything. Then, Ozpin spoke up in Oscar's head. "We should get moving. I don't know if our contact is here yet, but we should be prepared."

Oscar nodded, tearing his eyes away from the view and looking to see a way down. Next to the entrance of the station, a bus service stood ready to take people down a long winding road towards the cities center. He pointed it out to Bulma.

"We can take the train and make our way to the center and find a place to rest in."

Bulma nodded and they began to make their way towards the bus. But just as they reached it, she suddenly grabbed his arm, remembering something painful.

"Wait! We don't have any money! How are we going to take the bus down to the city, let alone rent a place to stay?"

Ozpin spoke up, giving Oscar the answer. "Apparently, the bus ride is free. As for the place to rest in, we are going to stay in a small tavern where our contact should be. Apparently, the tavern doesn't mind loitering."

"There you again with your 'apparently' habit," Bulma chided. Then she shrugged her shoulders. "Guess that isn't too bad. I'm just hoping I can get my hands on some raw materials soon enough, so I can build some stuff. Those ashtray creations on the train really got my inventive juices running."

They stepped onto the bus, the driver not asking for tickets or money, and sat in the back, making sure to have seats with a window. Shortly after, the bus's engine buzzed to life and they began to trundle down the road. They looked outside as the landscape went by, marveling at the many intricate architectural buildings sitting on the side of the mountain. Some of them seemed to be impossibly placed, looking like they would collapse at the slightest tremor.

As they made their way down the mountain, they reached the boundary of the mist. The bus drove right through as if not noticing the mist at all. Oscar and Bulma saw that the moment they passed through, the air was clear of mist, proving how thin the shroud actually was. In the valley below, the houses built on the mountains all began to come together as they approached the base and culminated in a tightly packed city at the heart of the valley.

Above the city, raised on a plateau, a massive structure stood. On closer inspection, the two realized it was multiple large buildings. A large one encircling the others, which were built to resemble castle towers, though with an oriental style and autumn colors.

"Heaven Academy," Ozpin said in Oscar's head as he looked at the building, "That holds but one of the keys to our journey."

Oscar did not respond, continuing to stare at the valley below, but he tensed slightly with the reminder of his purpose. Next to him, Bulma did not notice, still enraptured by the sight. Back on Earth, she would never have imagined a place like this even existed. The only place remotely resembling this place on Earth was the mountain range where she had met Goku many years ago when they were both much younger.

After another hour of driving, the bus finally slowed to a stop in the heart of the city of Mistral, discharging its passengers before driving back up the road it came from. Oscar and Bulma stood in front of a city map, trying to figure out where to go. Or at least, Bulma was. Oscar was feigning interest in the map. In reality, Ozpin had already mapped him a pathway towards the tavern he had spoken of. But he wanted to seem somewhat believable to Bulma as he was technically supposed to be a farm boy with little knowledge of where things are outside of his little farm.

"Alright," he said eventually, after "consulting" the map long enough, "I know where we need to go."

Bulma nodded absent mindedly, her eyes still on the map. Oscar cleared his throat, trying to get her attention. She started, looking at him before laughing a little and rubbing the back of her head in an embarrassed way.

"Sorry Oscar," she apologized, "I was just so curious about some of the attractions in this city and was wondering if we could go to any, especially that large building we saw as we rode down. It looked like some sort of institution."  
Oscar saw the childlike excitement in her eyes and hated to be the one to kill it, but they were on a mission and couldn't afford to go off track.

"Sorry Bulma, but we need to get some things done," then he added quickly as he saw her face fall, "But maybe we can some of these places while we make our way to the tavern."  
That seemed to do the trick. She nodded and then began to head off, Oscar following the directions given by Ozpin. As they walked through the city, Oscar had to admit that Bulma's desire to see some of the landmarks was far from unfounded. They passed beautiful statues of great battles fought in the old times, colossal churches and cathedrals that had not lost their beauty over the centuries, and a few gorgeous looking parks, complete with koi ponds, sakura trees and wooden gazebos.

More than once, they had needed to check themselves and course correct after walking down the wrong road to get a better look at a landmark. With these constant deviations, it took them significantly longer to reach their destination than it should have. But eventually, they began to make head way and as they did so, they entered into a new part of the city.

The change was subtle, but not subtle enough to be unnoticeable. The houses began to lose color and style, becoming blander and more run down. The streets became less clean, litter being thrown around and cobblestones being torn out, leaving large potholes. Soon, the cheery and mystic air about them had transformed to a musky haze, dampening the town along with their spirits. It seemed to them that they had entered the slums of the city of Mistral and unfortunately, like most slums in big cities, it had been not looked after properly.

Here, there was no deviations from the main path. If anything, Oscar made sure to ask Ozpin if there were any quicker ways to the tavern to which he replied that they were already on the fastest route. Bulma crept closer to Oscar, eyeing the alley ways between the buildings, watching for potential muggers or creeps.

After what seemed like hours, they finally reached a small tavern located in a small town-house. Despite the dreary surroundings, this tavern wasn't to bad. It seemed to be in good condition and, unlike the establishments around it, it seemed to emanate some bit of color. It was so appealing after their walk through the slums, they did not hesitate and entered through the double doors.

Inside, the tavern looked cozy enough. It consisted of a few tables and one main bar where the bartender stood behind, wiping a glass with a napkin. Candles on the walls illuminated the room well enough, though a few corners were still dark looking. Besides that, though, the place felt quite warm and homey.

The place only consisted of two people, the bartender and a figure in one corner, shrouded in shadow.

When the two entered, the bartender inclined his head to them, giving them a friendly smile.

"Welcome! How can I be of assistance to you?"

Oscar and Bulma walked to the bar table, sitting down at the bar and feeling quite comfortable with themselves.

"Uh, we need a place to stay for a bit," Oscar said, hoping what Ozpin had said was true, "At least until a friend of ours shows up."

The bartender nodded in understanding. "No problem, you can stay here free of charge for up to thirty days. Drinks and such will be free for your first week. Speaking of which do either of you want anything, though," he eyed Oscar critically, "I presume you are underage?"

Oscar nodded, Ozpin inside of him sighing in annoyance. He could use some alcohol in him.

"I will just take some milk if you got any," Oscar said politely. Next to him, Bulma considered for a moment before trying her luck.

"Got any Hetap?"

The bartender raised an eyebrow at her and Bulma sighed. "Never mind, I will just take a gin and tonic."

As the bartender prepared their drinks, Oscar looked at her questioningly. She leaned down and whispered so the bartender wouldn't hear.

"A soda we have back in my world. Just wanted to make sure that this place doesn't have any cause it's one of the best drinks ever made."

Oscar nodded, his eyes wondering around the bar, searching for something to take interest in. His eyes landed on the figure shrouded in shadow. He or she hadn't moved since they had arrived, but he got the suspicion it was watching them closely.

The bartender set their drinks on the bar and they thanked him, taking nice long swigs. They hadn't drunk anything but water for a while and the taste of something else was refreshing. As they drank, the bartender asked them, "So who is this fella you waitin' on? Maybe I know something."  
Oscar hesitated, wondering if it was a good idea to tell him. But, to his surprise, Ozpin began encouraging him to do so.

"I don't think there will be much trouble. Just give him this small description," he told Oscar what to say and he relayed it to the bartender.

"Uh, we are looking for a man with dark red, almost black hair and he usually carries a scythe, though it can look like a broadsword."

The bartender put his hand on his chin, thinking it over. Meanwhile, Bulma happily drank her gin and tonic, not too concerned with the situation.

"Nope, doesn't ring a bell," the bartender said eventually after giving it some thought, "Hopefully he comes in soon enough and-," He looked up and faltered.

Oscar and Bulma turned to see the figure in the corner had stood up and was approaching them. As it stepped into the light, they saw it was a tall elegant young woman in old fashioned clothes, holding a parasol. Her hair was a mixture of pink and black as were her eyes, giving her a very unique and striking look.

Her hands clenched the parasol as she approached, her eyes flashing with malice. When she reached them, she pointed the parasol at Oscar's throat, not saying a word but conveying an unmistakable air of anger and hatred.

Oscar was too stunned to move as was Bulma and the bartender next to him. Inside his head, Ozpin had grown silent, contemplating the situation. Then he said, carefully, "Oscar, I think you were quite right about being careful. This woman is the last person we wanted to overhear about people with red hair and scythes."

"Who is she?!" Oscar cried frantically in his head. Ozpin didn't respond, focusing at the woman threatening them, trying to find a way out of this predicament. That is, without being killed.

* * *

As the screams and roar of gunfire surrounded the Belladonna mansion, the people within the mansion were frozen in shock at the sudden change. Before there had been nothing, just quiet peaceful air. Now, it sounded like an army was raising the ground outside.

Finally, Piccolo reacted. He grabbed Ilia by her head and lifted her clear of the ground, snarling in fury.

"What is going!? Tell me now before I pop your head!"

Ilia struggled, her face changing colors rapidly as she panicked. "Please! I don't… know…! This wasn't-,"

"Put her down Piccolo!" Blake shrieked, her own panic overtaking her as she heard more screams and gunfire erupt outside, "We need to go out there and help!"

Piccolo glared at her, his stoic face grimacing with anger. "She probably knows something of this! This may have been all a set up!"

In his iron grip, Ilia began turning purple as she tried to breath. She choked out, "I swear on my life, I don't know what is happening!"

The doors to the mansion began to bang, notifying the group that someone was trying to get in. Piccolo growled, but he tossed Ilia aside and focused on the bigger problem at hand. Blake unsheathed her weapon, her panic turning to rage. Beside her, Sun unbuckled his staff and twirled it, his usually cheery face stony. Ghira tore his cloak off, exposing his bare muscular chest. He roared, and he suddenly bulked up, claws now protruding from his nails. Kali took a simple fighting pose, but her face was no less angry.

The doors banged a few more times, each time with more force. Suddenly, on either side of the group, the walls collapsed, and a troop of white armored troops stormed in, armed with assault rifles. Their uniform and animal traits made them unmistakable.

"The White Fang!" Blake yelled, her eyes widening. She should have known, but part of her was still too stunned to comprehend it. They had just learned that there was a plot to overthrow Sienna. But if that was the case, why were they storming on Menagerie? Especially why Menagerie? The homeland of the faunus? The place where many of the people that are in the White Fang come from?

Ghira voiced her questions. "What?! Why are you attacking? We are fellow faunus!"  
In response, the soldiers simply raised their weapons and opened fire, causing the group to spring into action.

Piccolo darted forward, faster than any of the bullets fired at him, and proceeded to take out most of the intruders with quick and powerful jabs and kicks that sent most of them either flying or to the ground in shock.

Blake and Sun jumped around the room acrobatically, doing their best to avoid the barrage while also firing their own shots back at the opponent, Blake using the pistol function of her machete and Sun, separating his staff and using his dual revolvers.

At that moment, the doors to the mansion were broken down allowing a stream of soldiers to enter. However, they were met with the charging beast that was Ghira, tearing through them and using his powerful aura to shield himself from the bullets raining down on him.

As for Kali, she quickly slid behind the overturned coffee table, grabbing a gun from a fallen soldier and propped herself on the edge of the table, taking pot shots at the intruders. As she did so, she yelled angrily, "What has gotten into you all!? I demand to know why the White Fang has attacked Menagerie!"

One soldier, tossed aside by Ghira, flew across the room and fell nearby Kali. As he choked in pain, Kali heard him say something.

"We are… no longer the… White Fang… we are the… Frieza Force!"

Kali looked at him, temporarily forgetting about the battle raging around her, trying to understand what he said.

"Frieza Force?"

Suddenly, she felt an incredible pain in her chest. She looked down to see small round pools of blood on her shirt, spreading as the bullet wounds began to bleed profusely. Faintness came over her and she collapsed to the ground, dropping the gun beside her.

"MOM!" Blake screamed in aguish, forgetting about the opposition and running towards her. The action would have killed her if Piccolo hadn't heard her as well and had rushed towards her, engaging the troops Blake had been facing before and giving her time to rush to her mother.

"Mother!" Blake crouched, cradling Kali's shoulders, "Stay with me, I will get you some bandages! Just stay with me!"

Kali smiled sadly, trying to focus on her daughter. She slowly reached up to touch her face, but a stray bullet caught the hand instead, causing it to burst into a shower of blood and flesh, splattering all around floor and on Blake's face. Tears flowed down her face and she croaked out a painful scream. Kali, seemingly unperturbed by the fact her hand just got shot off, continued to smile and whispered, barely audibly, "Blake…"

Then her breathing stopped. She lay there, motionless, her eyes looking up at Blake sightlessly. All around them, the battle continued but did not produce sound. All Blake could hear was the rushing in her ears and the guttural cry she let out, a cry of pure unadulterated grief, anger and guilt.

"Blake!" Ghira turned to the scream, tossing a few other soldiers away from him. He had begun taking injuries from the fight, his aura beginning to give way due to the sheer mass of bullets he was taking. The pain from these injuries was beginning to slow him down and he knew, with the dread of doom, that he was probably not going to survive.

However, when he saw his daughter sobbing uncontrollably, holding the lifeless body of his wife, his vision tunneled. Rage beyond anything he had ever felt before erupted inside of him, causing him to let out a mighty roar that made every troop around him fall back in terror.

All he could see was red. He barreled forward, knocking anyone that stood in his way, uncaring of the bullets that struck him. His only goal was to reach his family.

Blake looked up to see her father coming, a terrifying beast driven to rage. Her sobs only increased, seeing the shape her father was in. Her sweet old faunus transformed into a monster.

Then, in front of her very eyes, her father suddenly froze, grunting in pain. His wrathful eyes widened in shock as they looked down to see a sharp katana blade protruding out of his stomach, stained with his blood.

The fighting all around died. Piccolo and Sun, surrounded by many unconscious and dead bodies, had finished fending off the attack and were both gazing at Ghira, mouths clenched in anger as they saw the blade slide back out of Ghira, leaving the giant faunus to fall onto the ground. Behind him, Adam Taurus wiped his katana blade off with a piece of fabric, tutting in disapproval.

"Ah Ghira, always the big oaf, weren't you?" he shook his head, his fist clenching tightly around the hilt of his katana, "You know, I hate doing this. I really do! I cannot stand the fact that I am massacring my own kind on my own home island! It brings me pain beyond belief! But there is a silver lining."

He stepped hard on Ghira's back, forcing out a croak of agony from the dying faunus. He grinned maliciously, stomping on the back again and again while cackling, "At least I get to kill the Belladonna's and capture my sweet old Blake and punish her for her crimes against me!"

He slammed his foot down on Ghira's spine one last time and a sickening "CRACK" broke the air. Ghira's eyes stared forward, glassy and unseeing, before rolling up in the back of his head.  
Piccolo and Sun sprung forward, ready to take the murderous faunus down when a shrill shout stopped them. They stopped themselves, turning around to see Blake, tears still dripping down her terrified eyes, standing up and staring at Adam.

Adam also looked up at her shout and laughed. "Ah, my lovely little Blake! What do you have to say to me? 'How dare you for killing my father!'" He laughed at his own quip, being the only sound permeating the now destroyed and quiet living room. Even the noise outside had died out mostly. All that pierced the air was Adam's crazed laughter, angering Sun enough to charge forward once more, his staff raised to strike the bull faunus. However, Adam simply swung his katana in an arc, parrying Sun's attack and using his momentum to throw him to the side and through a wall which collapsed on top of him.

Piccolo started forward once more, ready to beat this psychopath within an inch of his life, when Blake suddenly yelled a question through a curtain of agony and despair.

"WHY ADAM?! WHY HAVE YOU DONE THIS?! WHY HAS THE WHITE FANG DONE THIS!? TELL ME WHY!?"  
Adam stopped laughing, his eyes growing hard as he stared at Blake. His smile melted off, replaced by a grimace of anger and, to Piccolo's surprise, fear.

"WE ARE NO LONGER THE WHITE FANG!" he roared back at Blake, a slight pitch in his voice, "WE HAVE A NEW LEADER! A LEADER MORE POWERFUL THAN ANYTHING EVER SEEN ON REMNANT!"

Piccolo's cape and turban suddenly felt ten times heavier. He staggered slightly, the realization of what Adam ment hitting him as hard as if someone had punched the lights out of him. He tried to speak the name, but words wouldn't come out. Instead, Adam spoke the name he had dreaded.

"LORD FRIEZA! HE HAS TAKEN OVER AS OUT LEADER AND RENAMED US HIS LOYAL AND GLORIOUS FRIEZA FORCE! OUR GOAL IS NOT THE FREEDOM OF FAUNUS ANYMORE! IT IS THE CONTROL OF REMNANT ITSELF!"

Adam, panting slightly, grinned painfully at Blake's stunned expression. He began forward, ready to take his prize when she spoke once more, her voice changing from pain and anguish to pure rage.

"Why are you following him!? Why kill the faunus for a goal you don't believe in!? Why let this person control you!?"  
Adam halted, her words striking him hard. They were words that had gone through his head many times when he had made his way towards Menagerie. However, the answer to those words was not a difficult one.

Adam gritted his teeth, his face becoming stretched from a mixture of anger and absolute terror. It was such an ugly look, that Blake took a step back, her eyes widening in horror at the change.

"You… have no idea…," he stuttered, shaking madly, "The power… our Lord… has…"

Then he pounced, launching forward towards Blake. With her weapons laying on the floor next to her mother's body, she was defenseless. Even if she had been armed, she would probably have been too scared and too pained to move. All she could do was watch the leaping Adam, seeing him fly towards her in slow motion, her traumatized mind trying to find a way out of this torture.

Just before Adam reached her, a steel whip came down from the side and whacked Adam across the side with such force, his aura shattered, and he flew across the room, crashing into the wall. Blake looked up to see Ilia, her face livid, glowering down at the struggling body of Adam. In her right hand, she was holding her weapon, a mechanical whip that could deliver a nasty electrical shock by using certain Dust.

Adam clambered out of the wall, looking up at her, dumbfounded by the sudden interference.

"Ilia?! What the-,"

"WHERE IS YOUR FAUNUS PRIDE!" Ilia spoke over him, her voice shaking with fury, "DO YOU JUST LAY DOWN AND LET ANYONE CONTROL YOU?! I WOULD RATHER KILL MYSELF THAN FOLLOW AN ORDER THAT MADE ME KILL MY OWN KIND! YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A COWARD!"

Adam growled, about to respond angrily when he was silenced by a powerful jab to the gut. He gasped, coughing blood out, staring into the dark eyes of Piccolo.

"Enough of your talk," Piccolo spat, "Crawl back to your master and tell him that a Namekian sent you back as a broken creature."

Before Adam could ask him what he meant, Piccolo retracted his fist and spun around, spin kicking him through three walls and outside of the mansion. There, the group saw a few hundred Frieza soldiers waiting outside, scrambling back at the sudden body being flung out. They began quickly yelling to each other, ordering to grab Adam and get into the airships.

"Their getting away!" Ilia yelled, rushing over to the whole in the wall, but a green arm stopped her. She turned to see Piccolo holding her, his face grim.

"You will only get yourself killed," he said in a low voice, "Besides, there is no one to save anymore."

Ilia tried to get around him. "I don't care! I want to kill every single one of those traitors! Those murderers!" She tried to duck below Piccolo's arm, but his quick reflexes did not let her get passed. She turned to him again, frustrated with his resistance, when an idea came to her.

"Why can't you take them all out!? You are clearly as strong as an army! Go get them!"

The troops had, at this point, hailed a few airships and were now dragging Adam towards one while also boarding themselves. Piccolo, however, did not move, even when the doors to the ship closed and the engines spurred to life. He only clenched his fist tightly as the ships began to ascend into the sky and fly away from the island.

Once they had gone, he dropped his hand from holding back Ilia and turned back inside to check on Blake and Sun. Ilia followed behind, still irate.

"Why?! Why did you-,"  
Piccolo whirled around to face her, his angry eyes staring into hers. "Because if I had done so, their master would know where we are and would have no trouble finding us himself!"

Ilia bristled. "So? You could defeat him no-,"

"We would all be dead."

Piccolo left Ilia with that, walking towards Sun and helping him climb out a pile of rubble. The monkey faunus was bruised all over, with a couple of deep cuts here and there, but otherwise he wasn't in critical shape. His aura was shattered at the moment, but it would regenerate in time.

When Piccolo pulled him out, he dusted himself off, wincing a little in pain, before immediately looking around for Blake. He didn't have to look much.

Blake Belladonna sat between her two parents, gently putting her mom next to her dad. Her face was beyond sadness, though any tears she would have cried had long since run dry. All she could do was whimper in despair as she looked down upon her family, wondering just how much time she had not spent with them. How much time she had ignored them, running off with the White Fang and then running off to Beacon. She had never fully appreciated them. Now it was too late.

She bent her head down and shook, trying to keep her emotions in check. Piccolo, Sun and Ilia approached her and gathered around her, offering soothing words of comfort. Sun even wrapped his arms around her and, for once, Blake did not resist. She shrunk close to him, trying to control herself as he rubbed her head and soothed her.

The group stayed like this, unmoving, for an amount of time that none of them could remember. Eventually, Piccolo got up, his stoic face once more present. He looked down at each of his companions, including Ilia, and spoke as gently as he could with his stern voice.

"Let's give them a proper burial outside. Out on the fields of their homeland."

Ilia and Sun didn't say anything. They looked at Blake to see what she had to say. Blake looked up at Piccolo, her eyes still reflecting the deep agony and trauma that would haunt her for the rest of her life. But she slowly nodded and together, they carefully gathered up the two bodies and carried them outside, Sun and Blake with Kali, while Piccolo slung the massive Ghira over his back.

When they exited the mansion, the sight that greeted them did not raise the mood. If anything, it only made it worse. The once beautiful isle of Menagerie was in ruins. Fires had burned away most of the trees and vegetation that had once grown within the neighborhoods. The houses were charred as well, some in complete shambles. The landscape itself was darker, tainted with the burns from the fire and the blood of the faunus.

The faunus. Thousands of bodies could be seen all over, laying on the ground in mixed states of agony and panic. Most had been gunned down, but some corpses were burnt, caught in a fire during the attack. Entire families could be seen huddled together, praying or begging for mercy. However, they had not gotten either.

As the group looked over the devastated land, they all knew one thing for sure. Not a single faunus had survived the attack. The entire population had been slain within the span of a few hours and left to rot on the ground until they decayed and decomposed into dust.

Ilia fell to the ground, staring blankly at the sight before her. Sun and Blake weren't much different, unable to believe that when they had arrived on Menagerie not long ago, it had been a vibrant bustling community.

Piccolo was also at a loss for words. He had sensed, as he had fought in the mansion, the carnage that was occurring outside, but he did not have a real sense until now. And now, as he stared upon the landscape, a powerful pang of guilt slammed into him. He fell to his knees beside Ilia, realizing that the promise he had made Blake before was now broken. Just like with his own race, he had not been able to stop the faunus from reaching near extinction at the hands of Lord Frieza. The thought made his blood boil and made him want to release a surge of powerful energy, but his instincts stopped him from doing so.

"I'm… sorry Blake," he murmured quietly, his gruff voice cracking, "I couldn't… save your… people."

He did not expect a response. He did not expect anything. He had failed her… he had failed himself… he had failed Gohan…

He felt a soft hand on his shoulder. Piccolo looked to see Blake staring at him, her face still in shock and misery, but she was not angry at him.

"It wasn't your fault. Not to mention, there are faunus out there in Remnant as well, meaning the faunus can still come back. This was just… their homeland… and where most of them lived," she shook herself, stopping herself from falling into more pain, "But it wasn't your fault. It was that… that… Frieza."

The word hung in the air like an icy mist. They could almost hear the cold heartless laughter of the emperor mocking them as they stood overlooking the destruction he had commissioned.

Sun straightened up, his face set, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Let's bury your parents. I will try to find some shovels to-,"

"No," Piccolo cut in, standing up, "Allow me."

He walked away from the group, looking for a nice flat patch of land. When he did, he dug his arms into the dirt and with the strength of a raging bulldozer, shoveled out dirt with alarming speed. He created two rectangular holes within the span of a minute and motioned the group over.

Blake and Sun lifted the body of Kali and carefully placed it into the grave. Piccolo did the same with Ghira, putting him adjacent to his wife. Then they all stood around the open graves, paying respects for not just the deaths of the Belladonna's but for all the innocent faunus that had lost their lives in the mass genocide.

"I will kill that bastard," Blake said as he gazed down at the graves, bringing everyone's attention to him, "I will find a way to kill that evil lord. He cannot be allowed to live."

Piccolo tensed, unable to bring himself to tell Blake the monumental power between them and Frieza. She did not need any more bad news. He simply grunted in assent before going to the pile of dirt he had created from digging the holes and just as quickly shoveled it back over, covering the bodies of Kali and Ghira Belladonna.

Even then though, they did not move, not compelled to do much of anything. It felt to them that time had stopped, allowing them to mourn all they wanted.

Sun eventually asked the question on everyone's mind. "Now what do we do?"

No one answered. No one knew, not even Piccolo. He didn't have the faintest idea of how they were going to stop the Frieza Force or Frieza himself for that matter. He was restricted from using his full power due to the emperor, leaving him only the use of his physical strength which, while very impressive, would cut his efficiency. And even with his full power, he was nothing compared to the might of Lord Frieza.

Then Blake spoke, hoarsely but with a tint of hope. The answer she gave would surprise Piccolo most of all.

"Well, why not do what Piccolo wanted to do? Let's find Gohan."

* * *

 **As our heroes stand on the hill of a tragedy to be remembered, Frieza extends his terror across the world of Remnant, already proving his power. Ruby and her team have been able to fend off a servant of the evil witch Salem, but can they do the same with forces of Frieza? Find out next time on Dragon Ball R!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note: Hello everyone! Welcome back to another chapter of Dragon Ball R! I'm sorry this one took a little longer to come out. Before we jump in, I would like to just thank everyone for the great reception to the last chapter! I am jubilant that you mates have been enjoying it so far and I hope to give you something new every week to read! I think that is all for this time so as always, enjoy the chapter!**

 **Last time on Dragon Ball R, the terrifying Lord Frieza has commenced his assault on Remnant, beginning with the massacre of thousands on the island of Menagerie! Lead by Adam Taurus, his new forces have already successfully exterminated a good chunk of their own kind, only leaving the likes of Blake and her friends alive. Elsewhere, Yang and Vegeta have begun on their adventure to find Ruby but Yang first must locate her mother to do so. Ruby, for her part, was confronted by Tyrion, the devout follower of Salem, and was put to the test against him! Thankfully, her uncle Qrow was able to save here and together, Gohan and Krillin, were able to defeat the threat. Weiss and Goku have sheltered in a small cave, unknowing of their location but needing recovery from their escape. Finally, Oscar and Bulma have completed their journey to the city of Mistral, but have now encountered an angry woman, set on killing them! Today: A Misunderstanding! Ren and Nora's Revenge! Yang's Family Issues!**

* * *

In a small tavern on the outskirts of Mistral City, Oscar and Bulma face down their new problem. The young woman's parasol was still pointed straight at Oscars throat, her face filled with hatred, though Oscar could also see pain and grief welling up inside her eyes.

Since telling him that talking about red hair and scythes had been a bad idea, Ozpin had still not spoken, apparently trying to find a way out of their predicament. However, before he could think of a solution, the stool next to them suddenly clattered to the ground. Bulma had stood up, her shocked face turning to anger as she marched towards the young woman, pointing her finger accusingly at her.

"Alright! Where do you get off doing something like that?!" she yelled, her voice hard and fearless despite being completely unarmed.

Oscar the bartender's jaw dropped, completely stunned by Bulma's sudden courage. Even the young women stared at her, her rage momentarily replaced by surprise. Then the rage returned, and she swung her parasol towards Bulma, the sharp point only a few centimeters from piercing Bulma's face. However, the blue scientist just growled and clenched her fists, ready for a fight.

The vision of Bulma being skewered by a murderous lady wielding a fancy umbrella was enough to snap Oscar out of it. He jumped out of his stool quickly, holding out his arms between the two.

"Hold up! Let's not get ahead of ourselves!"

He half expected for them to ignore him. They both looked beyond reasoning and seemed dead set to rip each other apart. But, thankfully, they turned their heads toward him. Their wrathful eyes bore down on him and Oscar suddenly wanted to just back off and curl up in a corner. Ozpin rescued him, telling him what he needed to say to the newcomer.

"I understand why you're angry. The man I mentioned to the bartender sounds like the girl you fought back a few months ago. You believe she got your boss killed and now you're out for revenge. But please listen to me! It isn't like that!"

The young woman's eyes widened, staring at the boy in front of her. Her arm trembled, her parasol wavering as she fought with anger and pain. Ozpin said some more things to Oscar and he continued, not questioning how he knew all of this out of desperation for her to lower her weapon.

"If you hear me out, we can help you take out the one really responsible for your bosses' demise! The one you seek was just a pawn in the whole scheme! The one you are after is Cinder Fall!"

At the name, the woman's face slackened. Her fingers loosened, letting the parasol clatter to the floor. She staggered back into a chair and collapsed into it, staring down blankly at the floor, trying to compose herself. Oscar sighed in relief, happy that the situation had de-escalated somewhat. Meanwhile, Bulma was staring down at him, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. However, before she could do or say anything, Oscar picked up the parasol and walked towards the shuddering woman. He offered it to her, giving her a weak smile.

"Are you willing to listen?"

The woman said nothing for a second, her eyes not leaving the floor. Then she nodded slowly, grasping the parasol and placing it on the table next to her. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading. But she did not say anything. Bulma walked up beside Oscar, deciding to ask the boy later about her suspicions, and frowned at her.

"You got nothing to say?" Bulma asked, her voice not trying to hide her annoyance, "You are out in the open you know? You don't have to keep quiet and mysterious anymore."

The woman's eyes flashed in anger. She pointed to her mouth then made a small gesture with her hand. Oscar realized what she was trying to say before Ozpin had to tell him.

"She's a mute," he told Bulma.

Bulma nodded while thinking to herself, "That's the first thing that kid knows that is believable." But she didn't say anything out loud. She would look into Oscar's strange knowledge after they dealt with the most dangerous parasol using woman.

Bulma glanced a little apologetically at the woman, realizing her rudeness. "Uh, sorry. I didn't know."

The woman didn't say anything. She kept her eyes on Oscar, waiting for what he had promised. In his mind, Oscar heard Ozpin say, "I understand we must be cautious, but in this case, I believe the best course of action here is to convert her to our cause. She could be quite the useful ally."

Oscar nodded, and he began telling the woman everything that Ozpin knew about her and her boss, Roman Torchwick. How they had been used by Cinder Fall for her plans to destroy Beacon. How they had pinned it on the one called Ruby Rose, using her as the reason for the death of her boss. As he spoke, Oscar realized just how crazy it all sounded to him, not even understanding half the things he said. Since they were in such a tense situation, Ozpin did not even bother filtering what he said to make it seem believable. He just wanted to get this woman on their side.

The woman listened quietly, her eyes widening as Oscar spoke, wondering how he knew all of this. But, in her mind, there was something far more important in what he was saying. Despite her absolute hatred for the red-haired scythe girl… that other person... was far guiltier for the loss of her boss.

At the end of the speech, the woman sat and contemplated what had been said. Oscar and Bulma looked at her anxiously, hoping she would find it acceptable. After a few tense minutes, she stood up, making the two of them jump. She looked them at her turn, her face stern. Then she stuck her hand out.

Oscar breathed out, smiling as he accepted the handshake.

"Thank you for listening. Now I understand you want to get to Cinder as fast as possible, but I still need to wait for my contact. Once we meet with him, we can begin planning our attack."

The woman scowled in annoyance, but she just grabbed her parasol and began walking back to her corner. But, before she could go far, Bulma said something to the bartender that caught her attention.

"Hey, do you have any wires, glass and metal I could use to construct a machine?"

The bartender looked slightly taken aback by the question. "Umm, not really. I may have the glass and metal but not really the wires. Though there is an electronic store nearby that may get you that stuff."

Oscar frowned up at Bulma, wondering what she was trying to do. Bulma caught his expression and explained, "Well, if I had the right materials, I could try to make something that could allow our new friend to talk or at the very least communicate with us without having to only use hand signals."

The woman spun around, staring at Bulma in shock. Seeing this, Bulma smirked a little and winked in her direction.

"Take it as an apology for my rudeness earlier. Luckily for you, I am one of the best engineers you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. The name is Bulma Briefs and I promise you to make a device you can use to allow people to understand you!"

"And I am Oscar Pine," Oscar said, realizing they were suddenly doing introductions, "And I'm just a simple farm boy that, uhhh," here he blanked, realizing that no simple farm boy would know everything he had said to the woman, "And I know far too much for my own good."

It was a lame excuse, but it seemed to do the trick for the moment. At least with the woman, though he noticed Bulma glance at him. He knew we would have to come clean with her soon. Insulting her intelligence wasn't going to get him much farther.

To try and deter the awkward moment, he pulled out a small notepad and pencil from his backpack and handed it toward the woman while saying, "Why don't you tell us your name? We will be working together after all."

The woman accepted the notepad and pencil and turned to write on the table. She wrote three letters before handing back the materials to Oscar. He and Bulma looked down at the paper, reading the name that had been written.

Neo.

* * *

Cinder Fall panted heavily, the Grimm avatar collapsing to dust before her. Sweat trickled down her face. She had been training with her new Maiden powers for the past few days continuously and despite it being the hundredth avatar she had defeated, it was getting no more satisfying for her.

Watching from the side, Emerald and Mercury looked on, the former conveying some concern in her eyes. They had dutifully never left her side, being bound to her through an emotional bond. They had both been given a chance by her, a chance they would never have dreamed of. Since their time with her that had learned much about Cinder. They knew what drove her and the lengths she would go to achieve her goals. But they were beginning to wonder if she was pushing herself too much, especially with Salem now overseeing her training.

As for Salem, she had left a few hours ago from the training hall, needing to communicate with Arthur Watts about something in Mistral, leaving the two to oversee Cinder. Ever since the dark sorceress had somewhat gotten over her meeting with terrifying Lord Frieza, she had been serious with Cinder's training, pushing her to use her Maiden powers and constantly displeased when Cinder would begin to tire.

"You have so much power and potential," she would say every time Cinder would fall to the ground in exhaustion, "Yet you are squandering it."

Now, Emerald, seeing her master in such exhaustion, walked up to her, offering her a hand.

"Come Cinder," she said softly, "Take a small break."  
Cinder looked up at her, her one remaining eye full of the fire from the Fall Maiden's powers. For a second, Emerald was afraid she was going to fry her. Then, Cinder just shook her head and accepted her hand, rising steadily to her feet.

"Thanks… Emerald," she croaked. Her voice had gotten much better since, but due to her exhaustion, it sounded like she was losing it once more.

Mercury stepped up as well, offering a smug smile. "You're not doing badly. You could probably barbeque that Ruby and all her pathetic friends with ease."

Cinder smiled at the thought, envisioning Ruby's face as she burned into ash. Just like Beacon.

Her smiled melted when she thought of that. It only reminded her of the new enemy out there, an enemy that far surpasses her.

"You are still nothing compared to him," a cold voice said. The trio looked to the entrance to see Salem strolling in. Her pale face was grim as she stared at Cinder, reading her mind.

"Though that is not due to your lack of trying," she said, reaching them and putting a hand on Cinder's shoulder, "No, it is just raw power."

Cinder's eyes flashed, remembering why she had sought the Maiden's power in the first place. It was for raw power. But now, it seemed merely a title, useless other than that.

"Do not demean yourself," Salem said, reading her expression, "You are still quite powerful and you have come far since your training began."

She turned away, looking up at the ceiling and the trio heard her take a deep breath. Without turning around, she began to say, "I have just gotten off the Seer with Watts. It seems our enemy has been quite busy since our talk with him."

Emerald and Mercury blanched, wondering just what she meant by "busy". Cinder asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"He has taken over the White Fang," Salem continued, her voice becoming harder as she talked, "He has slain Supreme High Leader Sienna Khan, and reports say that Adam Taurus has become his puppy dog. We have no contact from Hazel, presumably because he is dead. Not long after taking control, he proceeded to raid the Schnee Dust Company, execute General Ironwood and his troops, then launch an attack on the island of Menagerie and, by what Watts knows, eliminate the entire population."

They stared at her, their hearts filling with dread and fear. Emerald backed away, whispering incoherently to herself. Mercury grimaced, trying to cover up the pure terror welling up inside of him. Cinder just stared, beginning to wonder what just what was the point of her existence. During the span of a few days, the psychotic tyrant has accomplished more than most do in an entire lifetime. Meanwhile, she has been locked up in a dark palace, training to fight a little girl with a scythe. The thought made her want to vomit.

"Is there anything good at all?" Cinder gulped, forcing down the bile and addressing Salem.

"Actually, there is a shred of good news," Salem said, turning around to look at the three, "Watts has successfully infiltrated Heaven Academy and has Principle Lionheart under our service. This gives us easier access to the Relic residing in the academy. Not to mention access to the information he can gather about the whereabouts of the other Maidens."

Cinder just scowled at the news, her mood not improved. She muttered bitterly, "Much good that will do us when we are all dead."

Salem slapped her across the face, startling the Fall Maiden. She touched her cheek, feeling the stinging as Salem looked down at her in disgust.

"You must learn to take the best of news in full value. We may have problems to deal with, but at least we have some things going for us. Repeatedly sulking and complaining about what is bad will not help us in reaching our goals."

Cinder did not respond, still rubbing the red mark on her cheek. Salem nodded, satisfied that she had driven her point home. She backed away to the side, calling out, "Now, show me the fruits of your training. I'm hoping to see some improvement."

Emerald and Mercury gave Cinder one last look of encouragement before following Salem to the side. Cinder crouched, ready to fight the next avatar. However, before the avatar even appeared, the massive double doors swung open. They all turned to see Tyrion staggering in, his usually smug and manic grin replaced by grief and sadness. The way he walked showed that he was clearly in pain and injured in a couple of places. He hobbled towards Salem, collapsing to the floor at her feet, bowing his head.

"My queen," he croaked, "I am so sorry!"

Salem looked down at him, her face expressionless. At the moment, she did not seem to care about her servants' injuries or palpable grief.

"What happened Tyrion?" she voiced her only concern.

Tyrion stared up at her, his eyes welling up with tears of guilt. He looked like a pathetic little kid, pleading with his parents not to ground him.

"I was unable to kill the silver eyed girl. She was helped by… by…," he stuttered here, seemingly unable to continue. Salem said nothing. Cinder's eyes widened in shock, wondering if it could be true.

"You mean Frieza?!" Mercury yelled, asking Cinder's question for her. To their great relief, Tyrion shook his head frantically.

"No… no of course not him… there was Qrow Branwen…," he glanced at Salem to see her reaction. She still said nothing, but her face began to tighten. She turned away, pondering what he said.

"Uh… that was not all…," he squeaked quietly. This caught Salem's attention. She spun around, wondering just who else other than Qrow Branwen could be helping the brats and have the power to rival Tyrion.

Tyrion withered under her gaze, almost unable to continue. "A boy and a bald dwarf… they seemed to be named Gohan and Krillin."

This piece of news was so unexpected to them, it somehow lightened the mood slightly. Mercury let out a small chuckle. "You got beat up by a kid and a dwarf!? That's-"

Salem shot him an ice-cold look, immediately shutting him up. Then she directed the same look towards Tyrion. "Would you mind explaining to me how you were defeated by this kid and dwarf Tyrion?"

Tyrion spluttered out some unintelligible words before stopping himself and taking a ragged breath.

"They were fast, unbelievably so… they had no weapons, only armor, but their punches and kicks were powerful enough to send me flying into buildings… they were… they were far more powerful than any Huntsmen."

Salem's eye twitched, processing what Tyrion was describing. Meanwhile, Cinder clenched her fist, barely able to suppress a tidal wave of rage. Yet another powerful foe with powers that trumped hers! If these two strangers could take down Tyrion, seemingly without much trouble, then how much more would she have to train to even rival them?

Salem, for her part, was just as angered by the whole ordeal. It only added more problems to her, problems that were beginning to seem too much to overcome.

She thought of the gods, thought about her past with them, thought about her past with Ozpin…

Her fists tightened. Giving up was not an option. She was an immortal sorceress, destined to snuff out the hope that humans held so dearly. It would take far more than some superpowered freaks to sway her motive.

"You're dismissed Tyrion," she waved her hand at the scorpion faunus and turning to leave. He bowed deeply once more.

"I am deeply sorry my queen! I should have-"

"You are forgiven this time Tyrion," Salem said coldly, not turning to face him, "But, I expect better results next time. In the meanwhile, train here with Cinder. We must be prepared for when one of our targets are found!"

* * *

The once bustling and lively island of Menagerie was quiet and sad. The usual talk and laughter of thousands of faunus had gone, replaced by the low murmur of the breeze, blowing the scent of burnt and rotten corpses across the island. Nothing moved, not even the animals, who had deserted the island ever since the attack.

The only activity on the island was at the docks where a small group of people were walking down wooden planks of the boardwalk, looking for a suitable vehicle to take. Unfortunately, there was not much to choose from. Many of the boats that had once been tethered to the dock were now in disrepair or completely destroyed. Some of the docks were empty, a sign that their prior occupants were now resting at the bottom of the ocean.

The group had strolled back and forth along the boardwalk for the past few hours, surveying and comparing their options. These options consisted of a mere three small boats. One was an inflatable skiff with a decent looking motor on the back, but room enough to only comfortably fit 2 people. The second was small cabin cruiser about fifteen feet long. It was cozy enough, but a few of the motors had been knocked off and the anchor for the boat was missing. Finally, there was a small fishing boat, complete with fishing gear and safety equipment. Unfortunately, it seemed to be sporting a few holes at the bow, meaning that it would be taking in water as they sailed.

The group now stood between the three, weighing their options.

"Look I'm telling you," Sun implored Blake, "That cabin cruiser is the way to go! It's got lots of room and has enough motors to run the boat. Besides who needs anchors?"

"First off," Ilia countered, frowning at the monkey faunus, "Anchors are an essential part of a boat. If we need to stop, how do we keep from drifting? No, obviously the course of action is to take the fishing gear from the fishing boat and use the skiff. It's much faster and will arrive at Mistral within a day."

Sun scoffed. "You're kidding right? That skiff can barely fit all of us, let alone the fishing gear. I will agree with you that the fishing gear is a must, but bring it on a boat that actually has space!"

The two kept going back and forth, arguing non-stop. Between them, Blake closed her eyes in annoyance, trying not to lose control of herself. She had hardly recovered much since her parents had been murdered in front her. Her nerves were still at an all-time high, ready to snap at a moment's notice.

She looked up, trying to block out the other twos yelling. "What do you think Piccolo?"

Sun and Ilia stopped to look at the Namekian. He was standing at the edge of the dock, looking out over the water, his arms crossed. Since the attack, he had said very little, allowing his mind to wonder. At Blake's question, however, he turned to look at the three options before him. He scanned them quickly before giving the three faunus an answer.

"Take the fishing supplies and the motor from the skiff and place them on the cabin cruiser. We need the space and with the extra motor we can go faster."

Blake nodded. "Alright, that's the plan then," she glanced at Sun and Ilia beside her, "Could you?"

They nodded, giving her sad looks as they passed by. Blake watched them head towards the respective boats and retrieve the necessary items. Then she headed towards the cabin cruiser, using the small gangplank to board it and headed to the bow. Piccolo was already there, standing exactly the same as he had back on the dock.

"Still brooding?" he asked as she joined him at the bow. Blake hung her head over the railing, looking at her rippling reflection in the water.

"I can't help it," she said quietly, "Every time I try to get it out of my head, the images just force themselves into my head."

Behind them, they heard Sun and Ilia boarding with the equipment. Piccolo did not say anything for a few moments, giving Blake the impression that he was done talking. Then he said, "That's natural. You will never forget those times, no matter how hard you try to. In the end, it will always return to you. However," here he looked down at her, his expression not changing, "It is not always a bad thing."

Blake, surprised by his words, almost tumbled into the sea. She staggered upright, regaining her bearings, before staring at Piccolo.

"What do you mean it's not a bad thing?! It's good that every time I close my eyes, I see their lifeless bodies? Or Adam standing over them, about to do the same to me?"

Piccolo's expression still didn't change, but he turned to face her directly. "What do you feel when those images come up?"

Blake blinked, taken back by the question. "I feel sad, guilty and enraged."

"Those emotions are perfect," stated Piccolo, "They are the best emotions to use as motivation. They drive you to move forward, drive you to do what is right and drive you forward to exact you revenge upon the ones that deserve it. That's why those images aren't so bad. They remind you why you are doing what you are doing. "

Blake didn't respond. Instead she looked out over the water. At the back of the boat, she could hear Ilia securing the motor to the gunnel while Sun made sure that all the fishing supplies were in order.

She wondered if Piccolo was right. Were her depressing images possible potential for her? Maybe. But it did not change the fact that they were grotesque and horrible reminders of the past.

"What is your motivation Piccolo," she asked suddenly, "Do you use the images of your fallen kind to motivate yourself?"

Piccolo actually smirked. "Hmph, I wouldn't be able to. I wasn't entirely present during the extermination at the hands of Frieza. I was watching from the after-life of course, but it is far from the same thing. Besides," his smirk became somber, "I wasn't watching for them."

"You were watching for Gohan," Blake said, remembering what he had told her when they had walked together to her parent's house. The memory brought another pang of pain to her, but she pushed it aside.

Piccolo nodded, turning away from her. "We have already discussed what that squirt has done for me. So, to quickly answer your question, my motivation is twofold. Of course, Frieza must pay for his crimes against the Namekians and now the faunus, but I will also make sure that I will do everything in my power to make sure that Gohan does not meet the same fate, or at least," his eyes hardened, and his fists tightened, "He won't face it alone."

Blake stared at him, seeing the serious and brooding Namekian in a new light. Though he had opened up to her before, it had seemed more conversational. Now, she saw the true Piccolo underneath the hard exterior. A dedicated guardian, willing to do anything to guard his chosen one.

A loud sniff caught their attention. They saw Sun looking at them, making exaggerated sniffs and wiping fake tears from his eyes.

"Beautiful… absolutely beautiful… our Piccolo has become a… decent guy!"

Piccolo growled in annoyance, however did not move towards Sun. Instead he just turned away and jumped up to the top of the cabin cruiser where he sat down cross legged and closed his eyes.

Sun chuckled a little before a hand struck him over the head. He yelped, grabbing his head as Blake passed by him, glowering at him. Before she could chew him out, Ilia came up from the stern of the boat.

"Everything is ready," she announced to the group.

"Great," Blake said clapping a hand on Ilia's shoulder, "Great, listen I wanted to say-"

"You don't have to say anything," Ilia interrupted her, a sad smile on her face, "I am grateful that you took me in despite my orders. For that, I will never leave your side ever again. You have my word as a faunus."

Blake returned the sad smile, trying to keep it from trembling. The muscles she used to perform the expression felt like jelly. But she was able to successfully keep the smile and the two old friends shared a quiet moment together.

As always, Sun was the one to interrupt.

"Um, excuse me? I get that we are all ready and all, but how do we use this boat? I sure as hell don't know how to drive a boat. Piccolo?" he looked up hopefully at the Namekian, but he said nothing and continued to meditate.

Blake, realizing Sun had a valid point, began panicking. How had they not thought about this? They had been so busy trying to pick a good boat, they had completely forgotten about the most vital part of using a boat as transportation.

She was just about to suggest that they find rowing paddles and paddle the massive boat towards Mistral (She was sure Piccolo could do it with no problem), when Ilia said, "I am no expert, but I do have some experience. I had to drive some vehicles during my time in the White Fang, including boats."

Blake sighed in relief as Ilia climbed the ladder to the control deck and seated herself in the driver's seat. She flicked on a few switches on the dashboard in front of her before doing the same with the communications and radar systems above her head.

As she watched her prepare for departure, Blake felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked to see Sun next to her, his face apologetic.

"I'm sorry about being so… active," he said slowly, not meeting her eyes, "I know this the worst time for it. I am just trying to improve the mood. I should have realized now was not the time."

Blake smiled softly. She leaned in and pecked him on the cheek, causing him to turn beat red and take a couple of deep gasps.

"I thank you for the effort Sun," Blake said as he tried to compose himself, "I really do. I know you are just as pained as I am. The fact you can push it aside to try and make others around you feel better… well that is something truly special."

Sun tried to respond, but all he could muster was an unintelligible grunt. Blake just shook her head, giggling a little. She was never a girly or flirtatious person who loved to fluster the guys around her, but right now, she enjoyed Sun's reaction. But she also gave him a serious look.

"However, cut Piccolo some slack. He has his own problems to deal with."

Sun recovered a little, allowing himself to nod. "Yeah I gotcha. I mean, we are going to see his good friend after all."

"Good friend...," Blake echoed, knowing that was a mild way of describing the relationship between Piccolo and Gohan.

From the control deck, Ilia called down, "Alright, everything is in order. Are we ready to go?"

Everyone nodded, looking out on the ocean, new determination coming to them.

Ilia took hold of the throttle and slowly pushed it forward. The boat stirred for a second before the engines whirred to life and the boat began to slowly leave the dock, leaving a bubbly wake behind it. As they made their way out of the harbor and into the open ocean, Blake looked behind her one last time. The island of Menagerie sat silently, a shell of its former self. Her home. A home she would never return to.

* * *

Lord Frieza smacked his lips, savoring the wine he was tasting.

"Not bad," he murmured, "Not bad at all. I dare say it could be some of the best I have tasted in quite a while."

He turned to the Frieza Soldier beside him who was holding a small tray with the bottle of wine on top.

"Leave the bottle here and go inform your captain that he is to continue raiding the areas where you found this wine. I would quite like to have more of it."

The Frieza Soldier bowed deeply, leaving the tray beside the throne and running off to do as he was bid. Frieza watched him leave, pouring himself another glass of wine. He had always loved the sweet taste. Back when he had been emperor of the universe, he would sometimes judge a planet's value just based on its quality of wine. The planets that had great wine would be spared and the inhabitants inducted into the Frieza Force. Those that were of bad quality… they did not last long.

As he continued to enjoy his wine, the double doors to the throne room opened. Adam Taurus stumbled inside, two soldiers on either side helping him walk. He looked battered and frail, completely beaten. Despite this, he was able to give his master a weak smile.

"The deed has been done, my lord," he called up, "The isle of Menagerie is effectively yours."

Frieza put aside his wine glass, staring coldly down at Adam. He raised his finger slightly and fired two beams of energy. The two soldiers that had been helping Adam grunted in pain before slumping to the ground, dead as nails.

"As a commander," Frieza spat, "You will stand on your own when facing me. Now, tell me," the lord leaned forward, his icy red eyes boring into Adam, "Why have you returned from a peaceful island half dead?"

Adam trembled, trying to avoid looking at the two corpses on either side of him. He muttered something before clearing his throat and saying in a louder voice, "We met some resistance as we invaded the island. Mainly at the mansion where the chieftain lived. They were able to defeat a good number of our troops. However," Adam looked up once more, a manic grin spreading on his face, "I was able to kill the chieftain and his wife! The island is leaderless and yours to-"

Frieza moved so quickly that Adam did not even register he had moved. He materialized in front of Adam and grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up to his eye level. Adam did not even have the strength to struggle. All he could do was stare into the eyes of Frieza, expecting them to suddenly flash and burn through him just like they had done with Sienna Kahn. Instead, Frieza just asked once more, his voice deadly calm.

"Why have you returned half dead?"

Adam choked, his mind becoming fuzzy due to the lack of oxygen. He tried to put his words together, however when he finally spoke, only one word came out.

"Namekian…"

Frieza's eyes dilated for a second, his grip tightened even more. Just as Adam thought it was the end for him, he was released. He crumpled to the floor, panting painfully. Above him, Frieza turned away and began walking back to his throne. He did not say anything, clearly lost in his thoughts. Every once in a while, he repeated the word "Namekian" and every time he did so, his scowl lines deepened.

Adam struggled to his feet, keeping his eye on Frieza as he asked, "If it pleases you my lord, I could round up a battalion and return to finish off the job."

"No, that is quite alright," Frieza said, turning to face Adam, his voice returning to its silky but menacing tone, "You would not be able to defeat him. You should know that by now."

Adam gulped, feeling his wounds sting as if remembering the Namekians fists. Frieza however just smiled cruelly. "Besides, he has probably left the island now. But I will eventually run into him. When that happens," he gave a small evil chuckle, "I will finish what I started back on Namek…"

The pure malice and bloodlust in his voice was enough to wash Adam in a cold shower, causing him to shiver. He quickly hid his discomfort and bowed.

"Understood. What are my orders then?"

Frieza sat himself back down in his throne, picking up his wine once more and surveying Adam over the rim.

"You shall remain here for a time, recover your strength. I will need you to lead another mission soon enough and I cannot have someone leading my forces looking like that," he waved in disgust at Adam, "For now, you might as well answer a few questions for me."

Adam limped closer to the throne, resting on the first step leading up to it. Frieza took out his new mobile scroll and showed him a display of Captain Ginyu in front of some large buildings with signs saying, "Schnee Dust Company" with some variations adding, "The biggest company in Remnant!".

"Would you be so kind as to tell me a little bit about this company," Frieza asked eloquently, taking a sip from his wine, "It seems after Ginyu's raid, he realized that one of the people I had executed was the owner to this business. I'm wondering, as a business person myself, if there is any use to this company."

Adam nodded quickly. "Yes, my lord. The Schnee Dust Company is the largest company in Remnant, producing the product known as dust. It's basically is a crystal that can be used in technology and weapons to power them up or give them unique effects depending on their element. Some dust are elements of fire and others maybe elements of ice. Whatever the case, their usefulness is beyond measure. They are what all kingdoms desire the most, being as I said useful in innovation and security."

Frieza pondered this, rolling the wine in his glass a little. "Monetary value is of little importance to me. After I take over this pathetic rock, I will have all the wealth that I desire. Besides, Ginyu also found a safe in the basement that contained what we presume to be a great amount of money."

He leaned forward slightly and asked, "But do continue about the uses for innovation and security, there may be some merit to this after all."

Adam nodded nervously, unnerved by Frieza's stare. "Um yes. As I said, they are used in technology as a source of power. They can power up almost any sort of device you want, including vehicles. However, their most useful attribute, at least in my experience, is how they can be used to boost armies."

Frieza's smiled widened. He reached behind his throne and produced another wine glass. He proceeded to pour a portion of wine inside and handed it to Adam.

"Please continue. It seems we are getting to the truly interesting part."

Adam shakily accepted the glass, bowing deeply before continuing, "Thank you, my lord! As I was saying though, their use in military is unparalleled. They can be used in weapons such as guns and even swords and spears to add power and effects that make it easier to break through aura shields that Huntsman use to protect themselves in battle. In addition to this, they are easy to use and can last a long time before running out. If you were using a gun, you could use just two small dust crystals to give yourself over one hundred rounds of ammo! Dust can also be used as a means of defense. Specially designed armor can have dust inserted within, creating a small aura shield around the user. Basically, it's a makeshift aura for people that do not possess the ability to harness it."

Then Adam faltered slightly, realizing something that he knew would bring the mood of this conversation down. "But, unfortunately my lord, like I said, it needs the specially designed armor to work. The same goes for weapons. We do not have such high-tech weaponry here in the White Fa- I mean Frieza Force."

He looked up, terrified of Frieza's reaction. He fully expected the tyrant to just kill him right there and then for deceiving him with such false hopes.

To his surprise, and relief, Frieza just chortled.

"My dear commander," he said mockingly, "You must learn to use your head sometimes. You see, we may not have that specially designed equipment at the moment but after our attack, we do have access to it."

He showed something to Adam on his scroll. It was a photo, taken probably by Captain Ginyu, of a store room filled with silver colored weapons and armor of all sorts, all looking extremely high-tech and modern.

"We also have figured that the army that resides in that kingdom had even more," continued Frieza, "Meaning that we have enough to easily supply our entire army."

"Are you planning to attack the heart of Atlas?!" Adam said, unable to contain his shock. Frieza chortled once more, though his eyes became steely.

"Usually, I would not hesitate. However, I have decided to give the people there an ultimatum. Hand over the equipment that we need and in return, their lives will be spared."

"But and forgive me my lord, couldn't you just as easily obliterate them?" asked Adam.

Frieza sipped his wine thoughtfully. "You know boy, you have much to learn about leading. Having the power to control everyone through fear and genocide is beyond useful and is a favorite of many such as myself, though there are few if none such as myself. However, the key to ruling an empire successfully is also knowing when to pull your punches. Sometimes, the lives of your subordinates are much more useful than just simply killing them. And sometimes," here his grin twisted cruelly, and his eyes were as cold as a dead man's, "It's good to milk out everything useful from somebody, letting them feel that they are wanted and safe. Until there is no need for them…"

Adam stared into his eyes, compelled to look away or even run away. But he was transfixed. The being before him was far from anything that had ever come to Remnant. Not even the gods could be as cruel and terrible as the tyrant. Maybe not even as powerful.

* * *

Dawn broke over the treetops, waking Team RNJR, Qrow and the heroes from another world and kicking them into action. They wasted no time loitering around and immediately began packing their things, stopping only to eat energy bars that Juane had with him. Then they splashed their faces in a nearby river before setting off once more at a brisk pace.

It was only the day after their encounter with Tyrion, but they had already traveled miles away from the decrepit town, rushing towards the town where Qrow had said they would be picked up. It had been grueling so far, at least for the members of Team RNJR and Dende. They were far from accustomed to such fast-paced journeys and did not have the physical prowess to endure it comfortably.

In the case of Qrow, Gohan and Krillin however, they ran along with ease, barely a bead of sweat on their faces. This was just another sign of the amazing strength that Gohan and Krillin had, though the others did not need this to remind them of that. For Qrow, this was normal for him. His "job" consisted of him journeying across Remnant, hunting down outlaws and collecting information for certain people. It was a lonely job for sure, a possible reason for his love of alcohol, but it did harden him into a powerful Huntsmen.

Ruby panted heavily, trying to ignore the screaming in her legs. While she loved her uncle greatly, she had hopped for a more relaxing and enjoyable reunion.

"Uncle Qrow," she called up to him, "Do we really need to go so fast? You never said there was a deadline for getting to the village."

Qrow didn't bother turning around. He just said calmly, "Look squirt, the faster we get there, the better for us it is. There doesn't always need to be a deadline to speed things up."

Beside him, Krillin nodded. "Yeah, I'm in agreement with your uncle, Ruby. Besides, think of this as part of your training since it seems we will have to postpone that for when we get to our destination."

"Running for hours on end is training?" Jaune asked, unable to keep out his annoyance.

"Probably one of the best ways to increase endurance," Gohan explained, "Speaking of which, try not using your aura as we run. I know it will become somewhat tempting, but then this wouldn't be training."

Nora groaned. "I can't believe I'm being lectured by a four-year-old about endurance training."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "A four-year-old that has the power of our entire team put together and effortlessly beat you in-"

"LA LA LA LA I'M NOT LISTENING!" Nora yelled, covering her ears. She then turned to look at Dende, who was beside her and looking as tired as she felt.

"You doing alright there little guy?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm fine," Dende responded between pants, "All Namekians train physically somewhat at a young age, even if they don't grow up to be warriors."

"See?" Qrow grunted to Ruby, "The shorty there isn't complaining. If anything, you should also remember why you are here in the first place and what I told you last night. If you thought about that, I wouldn't be surprised if you picked up the pace."

Ruby stuck out her tongue at him. He just snorted in response and kept on running.

As they continued to run, Ruby did think back on their conversation last night, recalling what Qrow had told them over the campfire.

* * *

They had been sitting around a small campfire, resting from an afternoon and evenings worth of running. Team RNJR were barely able to keep conscious from the running. Dende had already gone to sleep, encouraged by Gohan to do so.

Qrow had taken out his flask and had begun taking a swig when Krillin, who was a bit more alert than Team RNJR asked, "So how about it? What's the story with the guy that came around with intent of killing Ruby?"

That snapped everyone out of their exhausted mood. They all sat up and turned to look at Qrow, who was coughing after choking on his drink. After he had recovered, he closed the flask and placed it inside his coat pocket before turning to his audience.

"Ah yes, I did say I would talk about that didn't I?"

"Yep," Nora confirmed, "And don't try to weave your way out of it!"

Qrow shook his head. "Don't worry I won't. It's about time you kids knew anyway, especially since you took up this journey of yours. You guys as well," he glanced at Krillin and Gohan, "It's the least I can do after you took care of my niece and helped me defeat that creep."

Krillin smiled giving Qrow a thumbs up while Gohan said, "Not a problem, Mister Qrow! We should be thanking them for taking us in. We would be lost without them."

"Qrow is fine," Qrow replied, surprised at the formality displayed by the young boy, "Anyway, I won't waste any more time and just get straight to it."

He paused, cleared his throat and then begun his speech.

He described how the man they had encountered went by the name of Tyrion, a servant of a dark sorceress by the name of Salem, a powerful person with powers beyond which the Huntsmen could even imagine. She and her group of devout followers desired only one thing. To snuff out the hope of all humans on Remnant. To accomplish this, they need four ancient artifacts known as the Relics, created by the gods themselves and legends say that they contain the power to summon the gods once brought together. However, they can also be destroyed, bringing darkness and chaos over the land. Humans have gone to great lengths to hide and protect the Relics, locking them up in four different locations behind unbreakable doors. Unbreakable, unless a person known as a Maiden is present. There are only four Maidens, each corresponding to a season; Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. Each Relic is guarded by a seal corresponding to a certain Maiden and only with that Maiden can the door be opened. Salem's goal is to gather all the Maidens in order to use them to open the Relic doors and carry out her desire for worldwide despair.

There had been a dense silence following the tale. No one had interrupted, too wrapped up in the story to do so. Now that it was over, they did not know what to say. Their journey just seemed to become ever more hopeless by the day.

Qrow glanced at each of their faces. "Yeah it's some heavy stuff. I don't want to add anything more to it, but there is one last important thing I ought to mention."

He looked straight at Ruby. "The one called Cinder Fall, the one that was at the Battle of Beacon. She is a servant of Salem's as well."

Ruby's entire body tensed. Her fists tightened, her nails digging into the palm of her hand and drawing little pools of blood. Beside her, Jaune was in a similar state of suppressed anger, however his eyes conveyed nothing but pain and grief.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised," Ruby said at length, "A person such as herself seems like a perfect servant for a dark sorceress."

Qrow scanned Ruby's face, a pang of sadness at seeing his beloved niece, a girl who always saw the good in people, wearing an expression of absolute hatred. It made what he said next even harder.

"There is something else about her you should know. During the battle of Beacon, she stole the powers from the previous Fall Maiden, who Ozpin was keeping safe. Unfortunately, this killed the previous Maiden and gave Cinder all the powers that come with the Fall Maiden."

Jaune gave out an audible grunt, turning everyone's attention to him. He had collapsed from the log he had been using as a seat and was on all fours, looking down at the ground. His face was white leathery and his breathes came in painful shallow gasps.

"That woman underground…" he choked, "The one Pyrrha was supposed to…"

He looked up at Qrow, his pained eyes suddenly smoldering into anger.

"You bastards were gonna force her to be the Fall Maiden!"

Qrow didn't react. He just looked away, avoiding Jaune's gaze, unable to deny the truth. Granted, he himself had not been involved much in the decision, but he had still gone along with it.

Ren put a hand on Jaune's shoulder. "She must have known the risks. She was smart and brave, but never foolish. She would never agree to something she did not want to do."

Jaune didn't look comforted, but he sat back on his log, hanging his head between his lap. Beside him, Ruby felt terrible for him. Pyrrha had been a great friend to her and everyone else around her. But to Jaune… it was a source of grief, regret and guilt. Unlike everyone around him, he had not seen the obvious romantic crush that Pyrrha had for him. It was that or maybe because he considered himself unworthy of her affection, him being an arguably weak Huntsmen while she was a champion fighter, one of the best initiates to enter Beacon Academy in years. However, after her death at Beacon, Jaune's attitude had changed entirely. He had not just grieved deeply for her, but he had blamed himself. At first, Ren, Nora and Ruby thought he meant about not being able to save Pyrrha, which was probably quite true though far from his fault. But, after Ruby and Nora had consulted each other one night after Jaune had left to do some solo training, they had realized that maybe there was more to what he meant. Such as not being able to realize in time…

At present, Nora cleared her throat. She had gotten up from her seat and had walked to Jaunes side. She rubbed his back, trying to make him feel better. But her face was grim.

"So that's just another crazy powerful enemy we can add to the list. How many more do we want? At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if a man stepped out of the shadows and said he could bend time and space."

Qrow rose and eyebrow in her direction. "Another crazy powerful enemy? You mean that Frieza guy?"

They all stared at him, dumbfounded.

"How do you know about that?" Krillin asked, his mouth agape.

Qrow smirked, taking out his flask once more and taking another swig. "I have been following you guys for quite a while, usually disguised as a crow. I also kept my aura down to a minimum so you two wouldn't sense me," he nodded towards Krillin and Gohan, "Since apparently you have that power. But anyway, along with hearing about your powers, I also overheard the whole thing about Frieza."

He sighed deeply, looking into the campfire. "I will admit, I didn't believe you at first. I thought it was too terrible to be true. It made Salem look positively friendly in comparison. However," he pulled out his scroll and swiped the screen a few times, "I found a few things on the news that confirmed his existence."

He showed the screen to the group. It showed a few cuts from online news. One of them showed a massive crater with the headline, "CITY OF VALE AND BEACON ACADEMY DESTROYED IN MASSIVE EXPLOSION!" Next to it, another cut showed a picture of the White Fang logo with an X through it with the headline, "WHITE FANG DISBANDED! UNKNOWN DISPUTES WITHIN!" Finally, a photo of a burning landscape topped the headline, "MENAGERIE ATTACKED! THOUSANDS OF FAUNUS DEAD!"

"That last one was from just about an hour ago," Qrow said, watching the horrified and frightened expressions going around the group, "While none of them name this Frieza guy directly, judging by the description Krillin and Gohan gave, it's safe to assume that he is the one responsible."

Ruby stared at the headlines, her body cold and her mind in limbo. It was not possible that such events could happen so fast… It was then she realized, her heart sinking, that this Salem person maybe evil and responsible for much of the grief she and her friends had experienced. But it was Frieza that would kill them all. It was Frieza that would bring the downfall of Remnant.

* * *

"We are almost there," Qrow said suddenly, shaking Ruby from her memories. She had been so engrossed in remembering the past night that she hadn't realized they had made some decent headway. Up ahead, just above the tree canopy, she saw the tops of village towers and churches.

"Is that the town?" Gohan asked.

Qrow nodded, speeding up a little as they neared it. The others followed suite, ready to finally be off this running path and travel to Mistral. Unbeknownst to them, a dark creature was also making its way towards the town.

* * *

In the slums of Mistral City, three companions were crouching behind a couple of trash cans, peeking over at a small beat up electronic store. It wasn't much to look at, just a grey store with a few of its windows shattered by vandals. Only a small light inside gave any indication that it was even in business.

"You sure this is the place?" Bulma asked Oscar, shivering slightly from a cold breeze that drifted through the slums.

Oscar checked the map the bartender had given him one more time. It was a small foldable map of the slums, which was much larger than Oscar had expected. The bartender had used a pen to circle the location of the electronic store.

"Yeah this is it," he said, "The buildings around it are arranged just as seen on the map."

Beside him, Neo stirred and began to rise up. Oscar quickly grabbed her shoulder, signaling to get down again.

"Wait! We need a plan to get inside."

Neo rose and eye brow at him. Clearly, she was just anxious to bust inside, take out anyone in their way and grab the necessary tools for Bulma. Bulma also seemed just as anxious, clearly not too bothered by the fact they were attempting a heist. However, Oscar, and Ozpin inside of him, were much more worried about the fact they were doing this in the first place. Oscar had only relented when he realized that Bulma and Neo were going to do it with or without him. He understood why Neo was so excited, being told she could communicate with others despite being a mute. But Bulma? Oscar wasn't sure why she was ready to perform a robbery when she was clearly an intelligent person. Ozpin's explanation had been that maybe, after being rich for so long and having all the tools she needed around her, Bulma must just want to have some of those luxuries once more.

But still, Oscar had many misgivings about this. It just wasn't right to do such a thing. So, he had made the other two promise that they would first try to do anything they could to avoid committing robbery.

Now, crouching behind filthy trash cans, Oscar wondered if that was even possible. The place looked unfriendly on sight and probably housed people just as unfriendly. Along with that, his two companions were itching to just storm the place.

"So, what's your plan Oscar?" Bulma asked, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked on either side of him, seeing expectant faces staring back at him.

"Well," he began, "I will start by just entering the shop and talking to the clerk, get a feel for the place. Maybe we can avoid committing a criminal act. Stay here until either I return or if something clearly goes wrong in the shop."

He got up, circled around the trashcans, and made his way purposefully to the entrance of the shop. He grasped the door handle, pausing for a second, hesitant to continue. Ozpin's voice drifted in his head.

"We need Neo's cooperation. The best way to get that is by helping Bulma create the device. This is for the greater good."

Oscar sighed, hoping it would not come to that. He pulled the door open and entered.

Inside, the smell of oil and burning plastic hits his nose. It was such a contrast to the musty atmosphere outside that he almost choked. Looking around, he saw that the store was quite small with only a few rows of shelves, filled untidily with a bunch of electronic equipment. Besides that, the only other thing in the store was a small desk behind which the cashier sat.

When he saw the cashier, Oscar was sure he would not be able to go through with the plan. It was an old lady, wearing small spectacles over her thin eyes and a thick wool dress over herself. In her old wrinkled hands, she was knitting a wool scarf with intricate designs.

Oscar registered all of this in just a matter of seconds. The door behind him closed and a small bell chimed over his head. The old lady looked up from her scarf, squinting at her new customer.

"Hello there little one," she said, her voice scratchy but friendly, "Come to buy some supplies?"

Oscar tried to respond, but his voice would not come out. It was then he realized he didn't know what to say. How was he supposed to lie to this nice old lady?

He cleared his throat and tried for a friendly smile.

"Umm hi. I'm just browsing around right now."

The old lady just smiled sweetly. "Oh, take your time. I don't get much visitors nowadays. Probably because I don't know much about all these electronics."

Oscar, who had begun walking around and feigning interest in some of the equipment, was surprised by that last comment.

"What do you mean? Don't you own this store?"

The old lady's friendly smiled faded as her face became somber and saddened. The change made Oscar regret his question.

"Technically I do own this establishment. But it was my son who created it and who made and collected all this stuff," she swept her hand around the store, "He was one of the best in the business. This store used to be the place for some of Remnant's best engineers and mechanics. His dream was to travel up north to Atlas and become an engineer for their army. Unfortunately, they never noticed him or didn't care because he lived in the slums," anger flashed across the kind face, but it was overcome just as quickly by renewed sadness, "After many years of trying, he finally gave up and decided to make do with what he had here. However, the slums of Mistral have never been the safest place."

The old lady stared down at the floor and Oscar's blood ran cold. He had a bad feeling he knew what had happened to this old lady's son.

"One day, just a few months ago, he was delivering some supplies to a customer. He was never too concerned about the neighborhood, so he was an easy target for the bandits that sneak around here. That day, he was ambushed by a bunch of them. They wanted his stuff; however, he was unwilling to give them away, determined to get them to the customer."

The old lady paused, sniffing slightly. Her hands were trembling, the scarf slipping off her knees and falling to the floor. Oscar wanted to tell her that didn't have to go on, but he was unable to speak. Her despair and sadness had washed over him like cold ice.

"They killed him in the street," she continued, her voice cracking, "Left him there to rot as they took his supplies. I didn't know until our neighbors told me. They offered to take me in, knowing I had nowhere to go. My husband had left us when he saw our sweet boy wouldn't make it to Atlas. But I would not leave."

She looked up at Oscar, her eyes sad but giving him a weak smile. "My son spent his life making this place… I will not let it die so easily."

When Oscar had entered this electronic store, he had expected to face a number of things. A big burly man with a shotgun, ready to yell at him for walking in for instance. But being told a depressing story of an old mother losing her son and taking over his shop out of love was definitely not one of them.

He opened his mouth to say something, when a gruff obnoxious voice suddenly called out behind him. "Oi, what a touchin story granny!"

Oscar turned to see a trio of thugs standing in the doorway, tattoos etched in their biceps and shoulders. They held large clubs and wicked sharp knives in their meaty hands. They grinned cruelly at the old lady, looking completely unaffected by the "touchin story".

"What… who are you?" the old lady was stuttering, her thin eyes widening in fear as she tried to get up from her seat. Oscar steadied his feet, staring down the intruders. He was scared beyond belief, being unarmed against three men that looked like they could pinch his head off. But he was also angry. The fact they could just come in and badmouth the poor old lady who had lost everything was something he could not forgive.

"What do you want?" he asked, trying to make his voice hard and demanding. The three goons turned to look at him and burst into laughter.

"Would ya look at that!" the leader said, stepping forward and roughly rubbing Oscar on the head, "The little kid wants to know what we want."

Oscar tried to swat his hand away, but the man suddenly grabbed his arm and lifted him up and shoved his face right up to his. Oscar could feel his musky disgusting breath blowing against him. He struggled, but the man held tight, the other two behind him chortling, enjoying the scene.

"We want everything boy!" he snarled, spit landing on Oscar's face.

Oscar stared into his face, his anger rising as he looked into the eyes of the brute. Suddenly, he felt a strange energy wash over him, hardening his body and bringing strength to his arms and legs.

As if in a trance, he used his legs to push off the chest of the brute, breaking out of the grip easily and pushing him into a nearby wall. The man looked up, stunned as Oscar landed on his feet, a slight green aura around him.

"What!" he yelled, getting to his feet and storming towards Oscar, "Who the hell do you-"

He was silenced as Oscar dashed forward and slammed his elbow into the man's chest, knocking the wind out of him. His knees buckled, and he fell to the floor, out cold.

In the doorway, his mates stared in shock at their unconscious leader. They stepped back as Oscar straightened up and look towards them, his eyes a different color from before.

They backed away quickly, turning to run out the door, when a parasol flashed around them. They slumped to the floor as Neo stepped over them, Bulma following behind her, careful not to touch the men on the floor. They froze when they saw Oscar, the green aura still around him and his eyes different.

"Oscar?" Bulma asked, scanning him and noticing the unconscious thug leader beside him, "Are you okay? We came when we heard the noises."

Oscar looked down, seeing the change in himself. He breathed calmly, letting the aura around him die down, though his eyes still did not revert to their original color. He looked back up at Neo and Bulma.

"I guess there is no point hiding it anymore," he said, his voice deeper and wiser than before, "I could try, but knowing you Bulma, you already have had some suspicions about Oscar."

Bulma looked at him, noticing that he had just referred himself in the third person. All she could say in response was, "Who are you?"

Beside her, Neo raised her parasol, pointing it at Oscar, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. Oscar just smiled, a smile that didn't seem to be his. It was a friendly enough smile, but there seemed to be endless knowledge behind it.

"I am Ozpin. You have never met me directly, but I am the one behind Oscar's strange and inexplicable knowledge of everything. He played it off as his own, not wanting to expose me in case it wasn't safe to do so, to which I agreed with. However, being in Oscar's head means I know that he trusts you greatly Bulma, even you Neo," he turned his eyes on the mute, who had dropped the parasol and was just staring at him, shock on her face.

"So, let me get this straight," Bulma said, trying to follow everything he was saying, "You are spirit of some sort inside of Oscar that has encyclopedic knowledge on everything in this world."

Ozpin chuckled a little. "Well, I don't know about knowing everything, but yes that is the general idea. Of course, Oscar is still his own person. I have just taken control to use my experience to get out of the clutches of these goons. However, I have no desire to take control of Oscar's mind permanently."

"Than what do you desire?" Bulma said, her eyes narrowing. She was willing to believe this whole spirit thing. It explained everything that she had questioned about Oscar. Not to mention, she has seen weirder on her journeys back on Earth. But that didn't mean she trusted him.

Ozpin hesitated for a second, but then he smiled once more.

"All I desire is to save this world from an evil force. Oscar is helping me do so and so far, you and Neo have been of great help as well. I promise you, this is all for a good cause."

Bulma exchanged a glance with Neo. They were still hesitant to trust this spirit, but it was true that he had been a great help to them already.

"Alright Ozpin," Bulma said, gathering her thoughts, "Than, it is a pleasure to meet you. Now, since the fight is over, can Oscar take over once more?"

Ozpin nodded, his smile not wavering.

"Of course, I was just about to do so. Besides," he looked over at the old lady behind the cashier desk, staring at them with her mouth agape at what she was witnessing, "I think we have secured our supplies."

Ozpin's head leaned backward, and he let out a sigh of relief. The green tinge around the body faded away completely and his eye color shifted back to hazel. Oscar's eye color. Than he collapsed to the floor.

"Oscar!" Bulma ran over, kneeling down to check on the farm boy. He groaned a little, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"So that's how that works," he croaked, checking his hands to make sure he could move them correctly, "He told me he could take control, but I was totally unprepared for it."

He then looked at Bulma, who was still looking over him with concern and he turned away, suddenly feeling guilty.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I should have been honest."

Neo walked up behind Bulma, looking impatient though she did not try to speed them up. As for Bulma, she just smiled, offering a hand to Oscar and helping him to his feet.

"Don't worry about it. I get why you kept it hidden. Besides, you probably were worried that I would think you're crazy if you told me you hear a wise voice in your head. But, just for the record, you know that I have seen much crazier on my adventures."

Oscar chuckled a little, recalling some of the tales Bulma had told him when they first met, "Yeah, I suppose you have a point."

Behind them, a chair was pushed back. The three of them turned to see the old lady walk around the counter and head toward them. She did not look angry, sad, or happy. She just came up to them and looked over them critically.

"Uhh," Bulma stuttered, suddenly remembering why they were there and not knowing what to say, "Hello?"

The old lady didn't say anything, continuing to scan them. Then she looked down at the three unconscious thugs on the ground.

"I have no idea who you people are," she finally said, her voice level and calm, "And I have no idea what you were blabbing about. But I do know you saved my life and saved my dear sons store."

She turned back to them and gave them and apologetic smile. "Unfortunately, I don't have much to give in return. The best I can offer is allowing you take some of these electronics free of charge if you're interested."

The three companions were jubilant. Oscar breathed a sigh of relief, thankful they had not needed to commit a felony to get what they need.

"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Bulma cried, hugging the old lady tightly before zipping around the store and expertly searching through the boxes. The old lady looked quite surprised about getting such a grateful reception, but she just smiled and watched Bulma mutter to herself as she compared supplies. Just looking at her expression, Oscar could tell what she was thinking.

"She reminds you of your son?"

The old lady nodded, her smile widening.

After about forty-five minutes, Bulma had collected all the necessary items she needed and was ready to get going. They began to leave, waving back to the old lady who waved back and called to Bulma, "Come back anytime! Always free of charge for you!"

"Thank you!" Bulma said, before closing the door softly and walking down the street, along with Oscar and Neo. Now that they were out of the store and on their way back to the tavern, Bulma's excitement was at an all-time high. She was finally going to do what she was born to do. Building world breaking technology.

* * *

"Weiss get up!"

Klein was shaking her, looking behind him, face gaunt with terror. She sat up, looking up at him in confusion.

"What's going on Klein?"

"No time, my lady," Klein said, packing a small bag with food and water, "He's coming! You have to get out of here!"

Weiss got up, somehow already fully dressed despite just getting out of bed. She looked around, only seeing darkness all around.

"Klein, I don't understand. What's happening!?"

"No time! We need to-,"

A purple beam suddenly shot out of the darkness and puncturing through Klein's chest. He fell, limp and unmoving. Weiss screamed, falling on her back and scrambling back, staring all around at the darkness, trying to locate where the beam had came from. She tried to avoid looking at Klein, her sweet old butler dead on the floor.

"Who are you!? Where are you!?" she screamed shrilly, terror crackling through her voice.

A cold, evil laugh emanated from the darkness, surrounding Weiss and closing in on her like a vice grip. She huddled into a corner, holding her knees in her arms and staring out into the darkness, unable to look away.

Footsteps echoed, growing louder every second. The darkness in front of Weiss shifted and she saw the outline of a figure. She could not tell who or what it was as it stood just there, beyond her line of sight in darkness. But then she saw a small purple light shine in the darkness, coming from what looked like the figures finger. Then another laugh, menacing and terrible shot through the air and the purple light flew towards Weiss. She screamed a guttural cry of terror as it reached her.

"WEISS!"

She sat bolt upright, looking around her. She was still in the small alcove that they had taken shelter in to rest. Next to her, Goku was looking down at her, his face etched with concern. His hands were on her shoulders and she realized he must have been shaking her while she was still asleep.

At first, she didn't understand why he was so concerned and why he had woken her so forcefully. Then the nightmare came back to her. Klein's dead body. The figure shrouded in darkness. The purple light. And the laugh… a laugh that made her blood run cold.

Weiss felt her eyes begin to water as the images flashed through her head. She shuddered, trying to push them away, but unable to forget them.

"I'm sorry I waked you like that," Goku said, still peering at Weiss anxiously, "But you were thrashing and screaming so I figured that you were in the middle of some sort of nightmare."

Weiss nodded weakly, looking up into the kind eyes of Goku.

"I saw… Klein… he was helping me escape… then a purple beam… laughter… heartless laughter…"

She stopped, unable to continue. Goku seemed to understand. His face became grim as he sat back next to her, watching her closely.

"Did you see him?"

Weiss did not need to ask who he meant. There was only person that he could possibly be referring to. As she thought about it, she was sure that it was him in her nightmare, about to kill her.

"He was shrouded in darkness, so I didn't get a clear look at him. Maybe that's because I have never seen him before. But I'm sure it was him…"

She lapsed into silence once more, hugging her knees to her chest, the images still going through her mind.

"To be honest, I have never really seen him either," Goku said, laying back on the floor, "But I have been getting nightmares about him just like you."

Weiss looked at him, wondering how a powerful man such as Goku could even get nightmares.

"What type of nightmares, if you don't mind me asking," she asked carefully, not wanting to pry. Goku remained silent for a few seconds, looking up at the cave ceiling. Then he spoke, his voice hard.

"I see my friends from Earth killed mercilessly, my son tortured and destroyed and then I see planet Earth exploding. Exploding into a shower of light and fire. Sometimes it's not even Earth but another planet I have never seen before, but looks strangely familiar," he turned to look at Weiss, "And the only thing I hear is laughter."

Weiss saw the pain in his eyes, the fear of losing all his friends and family. But she also saw something else. Anger and determination. As she looked into his eyes, she knew that this man would stop at nothing to protect the ones he loved, even if that meant sacrificing himself.

Seeing those eyes, filled her with the same determination. However, she was nowhere near the strength of Goku and even he was apparently trumped by the tyrannical lord. But she wouldn't take it lying down and doing nothing.

"Goku," she looked at him, newfound courage flowing through her, "I want to become stronger. I want to protect the ones I love just like you do. I won't let Frieza do what he wants with me or any of my friends. I will fight till the last breath if necessary."

Goku looked at her. Then he grinned.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!"

He sat back up and gave her his signature confident smile, the smile that filled her with hope and strength. "Just by saying that, you have overcome many barriers. It isn't easy to proclaim such a goal after what you have witnessed."

He crossed his legs, sitting in a mediating stance and closed his eyes. When Weiss didn't move, he opened one eye to look at her. She took the cue and followed suite, sitting next to him in the same pose.

"We might as well start training now, since we are here," he said as they sat side by side.

That confused Weiss.

"What do you mean? I thought we were just meditating to clear our thoughts."

Goku chuckled. "We are doing that. But I want you to concentrate inside of yourself, focus on your aura. Immerse yourself in it. Then wait for a tugging sensation."

Weiss did as she was told, closing her eyes and concentrating. She tried to feel her insides, surround herself in her aura. At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly, she felt a tingling energy wash over her, filling her insides with warmth. She concentrated harder, trying to maintain the aura around her.

Suddenly, she felt a strong tug in her mind. At first, she thought it was just another piece of her aura activating. Then it tugged again, harder this time, and she turned her focus on it, trying to follow it its source. All of a sudden, the world around her seemed to melt away, the feeling of the ground disappearing and the sounds of birds and rusting leaves around her falling silent.

She opened her eyes to look around her and gasped. She was no longer in a cave in the woods. She was in a large dark empty space, not a tree or object in sight. Just a dark void. She looked down to see she was also standing on what seemed like nothing, a flat surface with no texture or color.

"Wow, your pretty quick."

The voice startled Weiss. She jumped and looked around to see Goku standing a few feet away, smiling calmly at her. He seemed completely unperturbed about standing on nothingness.

"What… where…?" Weiss tried to speak, unable to get her question out. Goku just laughed, walking towards here and patting her on the shoulder.

"We are in a world of conscious," he explained, "I linked our energies together and formed this make shift dimension for us. It was a little harder since you don't use Ki like I do, but it worked all the same. In here, we can train for a little bit until you get too tired to continue on."

Weiss stared at him, unable to fully comprehend what he was saying.

"Is this how you usually train?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Nah," Goku said frowning, "I prefer training in the real world, doing drills and training under increased gravity."

Weiss did not even ask what he meant by that. She wasn't sure she would understand even if she asked. Instead she inquired, "So why not train in the real world."

"Well for starters," Goku pointed out, "In here, we can be more flexible about using our abilities. Second, and most importantly," he face became serious, "We don't want to attract any unwanted attention by accident while training. Here, we are secluded from the outside world for the time being."

Suddenly, Weiss was grateful for the void. The thought of unwanted attention was enough to make her nauseas.

"So, how do we begin?" she asked, ready to begin.

Goku thought for a moment before saying, "Well first, I want to see how you fight at the moment. Reach your hand out and imagine that you have your weapon with you."

Weiss did so, stretching her right out arm out and concentrating on her sword, imagining it's smooth texture and sharp point.

She felt a cold metal touch her skin. She looked to see her sword now clutched in her hand, the same as it had always been. Even the dust cartridges that Weiss used for special attacks were filled up.

"Incredible…," she breathed, feeling the swords weight and finding it to be the exact same as it was in the real world. Goku smiled brightly.

"Excellent, now come at me with everything you got. Do not hold back."

Weiss glanced up at him shocked. But he had already crouched into a fighting stance, ready for her attack. She held up her hands quickly, flustered.

"Wait! I can't just attack you!"

"Of course, you can," Goku replied calmly, "I need to see what your strengths and weaknesses are, so I know what you need to work on. Besides, combat training is one of the most useful types of training."

Weiss still wasn't too convinced, but she saw that Goku wasn't going to back down. She sighed before readying herself, crouching slightly, holding her sword with both hands and pointing it at Goku.

They both stayed still for a moment, their eyes locked on to each other. Than Weiss sprang forward, summoning a snowflake shaped aura glyph below her for extra speed. Flying towards Goku, she kept her sword in front of her, keeping the point directed at him. She reached him within seconds and jabbed the weapon forward. Goku easily side stepped to the side, not changing his stance and keeping his eyes on Weiss. She stopped herself, bracing her feet on the ground before springing back at him, unleashing a flurry of slashes and jabs. Goku dodged every single attempt, looking like an orange blur. Suddenly, he shot his hand forward and caught the blade between two fingers, stopping Weiss dead in her tracks. Before she could react, Goku ducked down and swung his leg against hers, sweeping her off her feet. She fell to the floor, grunting in pain. Goku dropped the sword beside her.

"Way too predictable," he commented, watching carefully as Weiss struggled to get up, "Though you do have some speed behind you."

Weiss gripped her sword and stood up, somewhat unsteadily. She stared down the martial artist who was stretching his arms, waiting for her to attack. She smirked, getting in the mood of the training.

"You want unpredictable?" she asked, "I will give you unpredictable."

Straightening up, putting her feet together and standing as tall as he could, she pointed her sword straight up, holding it with both hands. She closed her eyes and concentrated. In front of her, a massive aura glyph materialized, spinning rapidly. Weiss concentrated even more and from the glyph, a silver knight avatar climbed out. Goku whistled as the avatar stood up, three times his size and showing off its silver armor and a large broadsword.

Weiss smirked once more. "Let's see how he deals with this," she thought and pointed her sword towards Goku, directing the avatar. It obeyed without hesitation, charging forward and swinging the sword down towards Goku. The sword connected, creating a shockwave that made Weiss stumble. She glanced up, expecting to see Goku on the ground, beginning to regret her rash move. Her eyes widened.

Goku was still standing up straight, unmoved by the attack. His right hand was raised up over his head, holding the edge of the broadsword and resisting the downward push of the avatar effortlessly.

"Impossible…," Weiss mouthed, unable to tear her eyes away, "How strong is he?"

Goku suddenly disappeared from under the sword, allowing it to crash down where he had been. The avatar looked around in confusion, trying to find its target. It did not notice Goku floating above it calmly and it did not notice as Goku pointed his arm toward it and opened his palm. A gold ball of energy formed and quickly grew bigger, crackling with power.

Weiss watched, transfixed as Goku fired his energy beam down towards the avatar. It blasted right through the avatar like sunlight piercing through a window. The avatar buckled, disintegrating as the blast from the energy beam consumed it. Within a matter of seconds, the smoke cleared, revealing nothing but empty space.

Goku descended, touching down on the ground and grinning at Weiss, who was still staring at the spot where her avatar had stood.

"Not bad," he said, casually as if complimenting Weiss's ability to prepare a sandwich, "Definitely unpredictable. But slow, clunky and not you."

"Not me?" Weiss asked, trying to focus once more, "What do you mean not me?"

Goku rubbed his head, trying to think of the best way to explain it.

"Well, it's a neat trick and all, and it can certainty work in battle. But only if you can fight alongside it. You need to make sure that you can fight without needing help. So, from now on," he pointed at her, "You will not use that summoning thing when we train. As long as you know how to do it, you can make it better by improving your aura, which you can only do by training yourself."

Weiss sighed, looking down at her weapon.

"Does that mean I can't use this either?"

Goku followed her gaze. When he saw what she meant, he quickly shook his head, chuckling a little.

"No, that's fine. Sometimes, I will want to see how your hand to hand combat is, but generally when we spar you can use that. It's your main method of attack which is absolutely fine. All you need is to power up that aura so you can become stronger overall."

Weiss didn't say anything. She let out a sniff, causing Goku to become concerned. He approached her, tentatively asking, "Are you okay?"

She looked up at him, her eyes teary but sporting a happy smile on her face. "I'm just… glad that I can acquire the strength to protect the ones I love. And I have you to thank for that."

Goku smiled warmly, giving her a thumbs up. "Anytime, anywhere Weiss."

Suddenly, his smile melted, and he whirled around, looking out into the distance. Weiss tried to see what he had reacted to but saw nothing but space.

"What's up Goku?" she asked, becoming the concerned one herself, "Is everything okay?"

"Vegeta…," Goku murmured.

Around them, the void suddenly dissolved and Weiss found herself sitting in the alcove once more. Goku had left the cave, standing a few paces away and looking ready to run. She got up quickly, careful not to hit her head on the low ceiling and joined him.

"Goku! What is going?" she asked, a bit more forcefully than she had intended, but she was beginning to get very worried. Anything that could startle the flying energy beam using fighting master could not be good.

"Vegeta," he repeated again, "His energy… it's not too far from us. It's not moving too fast, but he seems to be going in a straight line."

"One of your friends?" Weiss asked, remembering how Goku could sense life energy.

"I don't know about friend," Goku muttered, "But at least an ally against Frieza."

He heard shuffling behind him and turned to see Weiss standing behind him, her weapon case now in her hand.

"Sorry, just had to get this," she looked determined, ready to move, "Let's go see this ally of yours."

Goku stood, staring at Weiss. Then he grinned. He turned towards the direction of Vegeta's energy and dashed forward, Weiss following behind, her aura already feeling a little stronger from their first training session.

* * *

The town was quiet and eerie. The group of travelers, who had run in so excitedly, had now slowed down, careful not to rush in too fast.

"More creepy towns," Krillin said as they walked, "Why is this such a theme around here?"

"Grimm are nasty creatures," Qrow replied, as if that answered the question.

Ren nodded, but he frowned slightly. "I don't know why, but this place seems somewhat familiar."

No one responded to that. They continued on, looking around to make sure they weren't being watched.

The town had once been a regal place. With oriental styled buildings, small canals that followed along streets and towers that loomed over the village, the town seemed to have been a location where wealthier folk would reside in. Now, after years of neglect, the once beautiful town had fallen into disrepair. The buildings were falling apart, some already piles of rubble. The canals, that had once been a gorgeous bright blue, were now a musky gray color, containing all kinds of muck and dirt. The towers, like the buildings, were falling apart or, in some cases, listing to one side as if trying to listen in on a conversation.

The group steadily made their way to what seemed the town square without any incident. Once they arrived, Qrow held up a hand signaling for a halt. He pulled out his mobile scroll and checked if it had service. Only one bar out of four showed. Not quite enough.

"You guys stay here," he ordered, looking up at one of the more stable towers nearby, "I'm gonna climb this tower here and try to get a better signal. Don't let your guard down."

With that, he suddenly disappeared. In his place, a dark black crow stood. It spread its wings and flew up towards the tower. Gohan watched him fly in fascination.

"Wow. When he said he had been following us a crow, he was being serious."

The group stood in a circle, keeping their eyes peeled. However, nothing seemed came to attack them. Nothing seemed to exist in this town apart from them.

A low growl murmured, and they all jumped, looking around for the source.

"Sorry," Jaune said, pointing to his stomach, "That was me. Have been a bit peckish these past few hours."

They all sighed and agreed, since not much was happening around them, that they could sit down and eat a little while they waited for Qrow. They all sat, accepting a few energy bars that Jaune passed around. Then he checked their water supply and tittered in annoyance.

"Running out again," he looked around and focused on the small canals that ran between the streets, "This bottle does have Atlas grade filtering, maybe it could filter the water in those canals."

"I will check," Ren said, rising and taking the bottle from Jaune. He walked towards a nearby canal and kneeled down. He placed the bottle slightly under the water just to test if the filter would work. The filthy water flowed inside, went through the filter, and came out clean as spring water.

"Filter works fine," Ren called back to the group, receiving happy assent. He turned back to the canal and dipped the entire bottle inside, making sure it was full of clean water before taking it out. He capped it and stood to return to his companions when something caught his eye.

It was a small, dried up water lily, floating on the glassy surface of the canal.

His vision tunneled. He collapsed to his knees, staring at the water lily, a sudden flow of memories entering his mind. A peaceful town. Loving parents. Rows of stalls, selling different items. Water lilies decorating the small rivers. Then smoke. Screams and the sounds of fighting. Crying as his mom tried save him. His dad on the ground dead, the black creature standing above him. And then the terrifying ear-piercing shriek that had haunted his nightmares ever since that fateful night.

"Ren?" Nora called out, seeing that he had not returned with the water. She turned and scrambled to her feet, running towards him.

"REN!" she arrived beside him, kneeling down next to him, concern on her face, "Are you okay? What's going on!?"

Ren just stared at the dried water lily, barely processing her words. Behind them, the others had now come up, weapons in hand and looking alert.

"What's gotten into you Ren?" Jaune asked, scared to see his teammate like this. Knowing Ren well, he had never seen him act like this.

Ren finally turned, reaching his hand out to Nora. She grasped it tightly, looking into his eyes.

"Nora… this… this is where… it happened...," he stuttered, barely able to get the words out, "This was… my… home… until… until…,"

He could not go on. He didn't need to. Nora's face slackened, realizing what Ren was talking about. Tears pooled in her eyes, the memories coming back to her as well.

Behind them, Gohan face fell, feeling the grief emanating from the two. He did not want to ask, but if they wanted to understand anything, they would need to know some information.

"What is this place?"

Ren tried to say something, but the normally stoic and calm Huntsmen was unable to. Instead, Nora talked for him, her usual cheeriness gone.

She described to them how this village was Ren's home. He had lived with a mother the father, the latter being a successful Huntsmen. It was a peaceful village, away from a lot of the politics that circled around the four major kingdoms.

Nora described how she, a homeless orphan girl, was saved by Ren from a couple of bullies when she had stolen a loaf of bread to feed herself. It was the time that she and Ren first met, though they didn't get to know each other until a few hours later.

During that same night, a monsterous Grimm attacked the village. It was a powerful and terrifying creature, massacring the townspeople and leaving everything behind it in shambles. Ren's father tried to fight it and died as a result along with Ren's mother and the entire population of the town. Only Ren and Nora survived the attack, Ren using his Semblance for the first time to mask their presence from the Grimm. Since then, they had never returned to the village, living together and training together to be accepted as Huntsmen at Beacon Academy.

Nora finished, her face streaked with tears. Beside her, Ren was shaking uncontrollably, his feelings still a mess as the images replayed in his head. The rest of the group were silent, not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry" didn't really seem like the right thing to say.

Then Dende stepped up. He patted Ren's back, only able to reach it because Ren was kneeling, and said in a quiet sympathetic tone, "I know how you feel. Seeing your family and village be killed in front of you… I have had that to. Not that long ago actually."

Ren looked up Dende, remembering what Gohan and Krillin had told them about Frieza's slaughter of the Namekians, including Dende's family. He saw his grief-stricken eyes reflected in Dende's.

He took in a deep breath, pushing out all the images from the past as forcefully as he could. Then he gave Nora and Dende grateful looks.

"Thanks… I needed that."

They both smiled at him, Nora squeezing his hand tightly.

"I will always be by your side Ren," she said, pure emotion in her voice, "I will always remember as you did."

Ren nodded, giving her a small smile of his own. They straightened up, turning back to the rest of the group who gave Ren similar encouraging smiles.

Then, a crow landed a few feet away, morphing into Qrow Branwen in one swift second. He turned to them, waggling his scroll.

"Got the call out. They should be here soon enough. All we need to do is wait and hope nothing attacks."

The moment he said that, the ground shook slightly. Loud clopping resonated around the town like massive hooves were cantering about. The group looked around, searching for the source of the noise. Then, a shriek sounded over the clopping, a shriek so loud and terrible, it made the group clap their hands of their ears.

"What was that?" Ruby called over the hoof beats.

No one responded, but Ren choked out a sob and they turned to look at him. His face was once again slack with terror and grief. Next to him, Nora was the same, her eyes wide and panicked.

"Guys!" Jaune yelled, their panic beginning to seep into him, "Guys, what is it?!"

"It's the Grimm!" Nora croaked, "The same Grimm from when…,"

The sentence died in her throat as her eyes locked on to something. Her hammer clattered to the floor and she gripped to Ren tightly, who had also dropped his weapon and was standing stock still, his eyes fixed on the Grimm that had just entered the square.

It was a massive and terrifying abomination. It's body mainly consisted of a jet-black stallion, as tall as some of the houses. The ribs and skull of the horse were clearly visible, the white contrasting with the black skin.

Atop the stallion, a black humanoid creature was fused to the back of the horse. Its arms were thin but long, stretching down to the ground. Its face was a horrific sight, a mouth that looked like the gates to hell and two horns protruding from the head. When it moved, its limbs and body moved with spasmodic twitching, making a horrible cracking sound.

"Holy crap…," Krillin breathed, staring at the creature before them, "That is one piece of nightmare fuel."

The humanoid creature made cracking noises as it turned its head to look at the group. It then opened its mouth and shrieked the guttural cry from earlier. It sent shivers down the groups spine, giving them a feeling of hopelessness.

Ruby looked behind her, seeing Nora and Ren paralyzed with shock and fear. Her fear turned to rage, and she faced the Grimm once more, calling out to the others, "I think this creature deserves to be silenced! Who's with me?"

They shouted in agreement and together, they charged forward, leaving Dende to look after Nora and Ren.

At first, they dashed forward as one. Then, as they got closer, Ruby, Qrow and Jaune darted to the left while Gohan and Krillin darted to the right, surrounding the creature. It shrieked, making painful cracking noises as it spun around, trying to locate its targets. Its long arms began to whip into action, upending a few of the cobblestone tiles on the ground.

Ruby struck first, jumping up and bringing down her scythe across the stallion's stomach. The blade connected, however did not slice through. Ruby tried to wedge the blade out, but a dangling arm suddenly flew from the side and smacked her away. She flew straight into Jaune, sending both of them tumbling.

Qrow was next, using the buildings as jump pads and gaining height over the monster. He clicked a button on the hilt of his broadsword and gears began wiring inside. The broadsword extended and curved inward until it had become a scythe. He spun down towards the creature, becoming a living buzz saw. However, the creature, seeing his approach, let out a mighty shriek directly towards Qrow. The horrible sound was so jarring and painful, he lost concentration and ended up missing completely, plowing into the ground instead.

Gohan and Krillin zipped around the Grimm, barely visible blurs. They were waiting for a chance to attack, scoping the enemy for weaknesses. Suddenly, they both sprang forward, closing the distance between themselves and the creature in a split second. They both aimed for a different hind leg, driving their feet into the dark and slimy flesh. The legs both let out sickening cracks and the humanoid creature above shrieked once more. It tried to swing its arms around to hit the attackers, but Gohan and Krillin easily dodged the flailing limb and jumped away to a nearby building. There they stood surveying the situation.

"We got the back legs," Krillin said, watching as Ruby and Jaune struggled to get up, "Front legs next?"

Gohan scowled, watching Qrow extract himself from the ground and barely dodge a flailing arm. He turned to Krillin, his face deadly serious.

"Let's just use our full power. Finish this thing in a few swift blows and maybe a Ki blast for extra measure."

Krillin looked at him, reading the scared expression on Gohan's face. He saw the worry in him, not wanting to see their new friends get hurt. But he also knew that what he suggested was not possible.

"It's too dangerous Gohan," Krillin said, "If we release our power, Frieza could find us. Then this creature would not even matter."

Gohan's fists clenched, frustration building. But he knew Krillin was right. If they so much as flew around or fired an energy beam, Frieza's scouter could pick them and give him their location.

Krillin put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Hey, we promised we would train them, right? There is no way we are breaking that promise."

He grinned and Gohan felt himself grinning as well.

"You bet!" He looked back down at the Grimm, who was currently trying to crush Qrow under its hooves, "Front leg's it is!"

They jumped off the building, speeding towards the battlefield, determined to not let anyone else they cared for get hurt.

Meanwhile, Dende watched the fight, wincing every time the Grimm shrieked and attack. He saw flashes of movement before seeing Gohan and Krillin take out the two front legs, hitting them clean off. The monster roared, the stallion collapsing to the ground, barely staying upright by using it's injured hind legs.

"At least they seem to be getting the upper hand," he murmured, though he was still nervous. The humanoid part of the Grimm was still basically unharmed and moving freely, shrieking and whipping its arms around, causing the fighters to back off.

Behind Dende, Nora and Ren were standing together, their minds still too muddled to move. The shock of finding themselves back in their home town and then meeting the Grimm of their nightmares had been a little too much for them to process.

Dende looked back at them, a pang of sadness once more going through him. He wished he could heal them of this mental shock or even suppress their feelings. However, ironically, the only one who could do that was standing there, slack and terrified. Seeing them like this, his new friends that had accepted him and comforted him, Dende turned to them, his face set.

"Come on guys!" he said, raising his voice over the fighting behind him, "Is this how you want to be remembered for this fight? The fight where you had a chance to finally get revenge?"

At the word "revenge", Ren's face turned slightly, focusing on the small Namekian.

"But… how…?"

"By going out there and helping your friends!" Dende answered, "They are out there, risking their lives to fight the enemy that killed your entire village! Your family!"

Nora sniffled, turning to Dende. Her face, to his surprise, had become suddenly enraged. She stepped in front of Ren and roared down at Dende, "IT ISN'T THAT EASY! THE TRAUMA THAT RUNS THROUGH US… THROUGH REN… IT CAN'T BE JUST FOUGHT THROUGH!"

Dende hung his head low, letting Nora's words wash over him. Behind him, he heard Ruby cry out in pain, and he hoped that she was okay. But he needed to focus on Ren and Nora. He looked up at Nora's angry face, his own face calm but stern.

"I know what you mean… as a person who doesn't have any fighting power… I don't how to fight against the enemies that massacred my village and family. But," he clenched his fists tightly and a small fire burned in the child Namkians eyes, "I will do what I can to make sure Frieza pays for what he did to them and the rest of my race! Do the same here! Do what you can to make sure this Grimm pays for his actions. Don't let him terrorize anymore people! Let your village rest in peace…," he finished softly, feeling his eyes growing wet.

Ren and Nora stared at him, silent. They both looked at the Grimm before them, currently flailing around once more, trying to knock the speedy Gohan and Krillin out of the air. On the ground near its feet, they saw Ruby, a deep cut on her head, kneeling in front of an unconscious body, seemingly shielding it from any more harm. At closer inspection, Ren and Nora saw who it was.

Jaune Arc was out cold on the ground, nasty wounds and bruises visible even from afar. His sword lay a few feet to the side. Next to it, a chunk of the Grimm's arm lay severed, still flopping about limply.

"Jaune…," Ren croaked. His team leader. The boy that grown so much from being a failure that had forged his way into Beacon Academy to a valiant and powerful fighter, ready to do what was right for his friends. He had gone out against the Grimm, knowing he was outmatched and as a result had been injured, fighting their battle…

Their faces shifted from pained and grief stricken to determined rage. Nora picked up her hammer, making sure the grenades were set. Ren grabbed his two pistols, getting ready to charge forward. But before he did, he turned to look at Dende and gave him an appreciative nod.

"Thank you Dende," he said. Then he turned and, together with Nora, they sprang towards their childhood tormentor, yelling in defiance.

As they joined the battle, a long black arm swung from nowhere, aiming straight for Ren. Before he or Nora could react, Gohan appeared in front of them and blocked the attack, not being pushed back by the powerful limb.

"Go on!" he yelled to them, "I will distract the arms. Krillin is helping Ruby, Qrow and Jaune get to Dende so you don't have to worry about them."

They nodded, charging forward once more and leaving Gohan to deal with the arms. They ran until they were under the low belly of the Grimm, making sure not to get impaled by one of the protruding ribs.

"What's the plan Ren?" Norea said, holding her hammer at the ready. Ren thought for a moment before an idea struck him.

"I have something in mind, but we will need Gohan's help to do it," he called out, hoping the small boy could hear him. In a flash of movement, Gohan appeared next to him, still not looking too tired despite tussling with a massive monster.

"What's going on?"

"Gohan," Ren scrambled, trying to the idea to him as quickly as possible, "Can you have the arms follow you around the body of this creature? I want one arm looped tight around the neck of the horse and the other tight around the section between the hind legs and that… thing on its back."

Gohan thought for a second, before he nodded smiling.

"Shouldn't be too hard, I can get Krillin to do one arm and I will do the other. I presume you have a plan on what to do afterward?"

Ren nodded, turning to Nora and give her a small smile. In response, she gave him her crazy "I'm gonna break some legs!" grin.

"It's time for long awaited payback!" she said.

Gohan zipped away and shortly afterward, Ren and Nora ducked low to the ground as they watched the blurs of Gohan and Krillin jumping up and around the midsection of the Grimm, the arms following dumbly. After a few more loops around, Gohan and Krilllin suddenly turned and expertley grabbed the arms. Using their incredible strength, they ran out from under the creature, pulling the arms along. The arms, which had at this point been looped around the neck and hindquarters of the stallion began to tighten, causing the humanoid to scream in agony.

"There!" Gohan said, standing a few yards away from the creature, still holding on to the long black limb, "Get in there before it breaks free."

From the other side, Krillin nodded, doing the same as Gohan. Due to their efforts, the Grimm had now been separated into sections, the head of the stallion, the hind legs, and the humanoid creature in the middle.

Ren and Nora nodded grimly, before springing towards a section, Nora taking the hind legs and Ren taking horse head. When he reached the head, he used the blade attachments on the pistols to slice through the throat before jumping over and landing atop the head. Sitting on the head, Ren pointed his pistols down at its skull and fired a barrage of bullets. Between the bullets, slash on the throat and the arm squeezing tight, the horse head did not even have time to winey before it came off and dropped to the ground. Ren got off, watching in contempt as it began to dissolve into black mist.

At the hind quarters, Nora leaped into the air. Changing her hammer into a grenade launcher, she fired a few grenades down, causing the hind quarters to shake. Then, as she began falling from her leap, she reverted her weapon back to a hammer and struck it down with all her might on a spot just below where the arm was tightly wrapped around. As a result, the hindquarters simply exploded, dissolving as particles flew everywhere.

All that was left was the humanoid creature, still attached to the back of the stallion. However, without the stallion's head or legs, it was completely unable to move. All it could do was twist sickeningly, screeching in protest.

"Gohan, Krillin!" Ren yelled to them, "The arms!"

They both nodded and together, they suddenly pulled twice as hard on the arms. The Grimm screamed as its limbs literally tore off from its body, the arms dissolving as soon as they became detached from the body.

The Grimm writhed in pain, twisting and turning its humanoid body, trying to move, but unable to with only the stallions stomach remaining. Ren and Nora walked forward, their faces grim and angry. However, as they watched the Grimm flail helplessly, they realized they took no pleasure from its agony. Unlike itself, they had a heart. However, that did not mean they would not serve justice.

"For my village… for my family," Ren said in a low voice.

The creature turned to the sound of his voice. It bent low, its head just a few feet from Ren's. It stared at the stoic Huntsmen for a second. Then it opened its mouth wide, revealing a cavernous red opening, and roared as loud as it could.

Ren did not move, staring at it dead on. Instead, he just nodded behind him to Nora, who understood immediately. She shifted her weapon to a grenade launcher once more before firing three grenades straight down the gaping mouth of the creature. It closed its mouth, seeming to realize something was wrong. Before it could do anything, however, Ren swiftly cut the humanoid torso apart from the back of the stallion. For a split-second, the human like body of the Grimm hung suspended in the air, the rest of the stallion below it beginning to dissolve. Then, before it could hit the ground, Nora's grenades went off inside and the creature let out one last horrific shriek before it imploded in a bright pink explosion.

Ren and Nora watched the final remains of the Grimm quietly. They did not cheer or celebrate. They just stood silently, feeling the town around them give a sigh of relief. The people that once lived here had finally been laid to rest and avenged.

Ren suddenly realized he was crying. He tried to rub away the tears, but Nora stopped him, taking his hand and squeezing it. He looked at her to see her crying as well, but she was smiling.

"You can feel them," was all she said.

Ren just nodded, smiling as well, hoping his mother and father could find peace in the after-life.

"Alright love-birds let's wrap it up," a drawling voice said behind them. They turned quickly to see all their friends standing behind them, grinning at them. Even Qrow, despite his bored expression, had a small smile on his lips.

Ruby and Jaune were fully healed, their auras intact once more thanks to the healing powers of Dende. Beside them, Gohan and Krillin stood, completely unharmed. Even the armor they were still wearing since arriving had not been dented or scratched. Finally, Dende stood at the front, smiling the widest at the two.

"That was fantastic you two," Ruby squealed, running over to them, "I mean you guys were just awesome!"

Nora put on a smug smile. "Well, can't say I'm too surprised," she glanced over at Krillin and Gohan, "Maybe we aren't much weaker than you guys after all.

The two laughed a little while Ren elbowed Nora. However, their laugh was forced. They had yet to really tell the group that they were holding back almost eighty percent of their full power so as not to attract unwanted attention.

The group were just beginning to chat about some of the techniques that they used during the fight, when a low humming noise caught their attention. At first, it was low and barely audible, sounding like background noise. Then it grew louder, coming closer until the group recognized the sound of helicopter blades churning. They all looked up to see two small aircrafts in the shape of boats, using two helicopter blades to keep them afloat.

"Seems our ride is here," Qrow said, taking out his flask and sipping some of its contents, "About bloody time to."

The two ships dropped down in the square, opening large sliding doors in the center and allowing the group to enter each. Team RNJR entered one while Qrow, Gohan, Krillin and Dende entered the other. They waved to each other happily as the doors closed and the ships took off and began flying in the direction they came from.

Inside one ship, Team RNJR all sat around relaxing. Ruby was tinkering with her scythe, chatting quietly with Jaune. Every once in a while, they glanced towards the other two and smiled gently. Ren and Nora were sitting up against the wall, asleep. Nora leaned against Ren and he had his arm around her, embracing her in a small hug. After their experience in their old hometown, they deserved some good rest.

In the other ship, the atmosphere was less cheerful. Qrow took sips from his flask, watching Krillin and Gohan sitting cross legged. Instead of image training, they had their arms crossed and they stared down at the ground, grimacing. Beside them, Dende looked worried as well, constantly fiddling with his robe.

"Hmph," Qrow grunted, guessing what they were thinking about, "We really don't have much of a chance, do we?"

Krillin glanced at him, his expression depressed and frustrated. "I don't want to say that, I really don't. But, me and Gohan are no match for Frieza. Gohan's father is the strongest person I know, but even he would not be able to fight him alone. Maybe with Vegeta's and Piccolo's help, but it's uncertain."

"I wish we could help you," Qrow said, his voice becoming gentler, "But even you two are in a completely different league than we are. When I said you were stronger than me, I didn't mean by a little bit. I know you two are holding back. You two alone are more powerful than Huntsmen out there. You guys would have been an unbelievable help in the war against Salem. But now," he clenched his fists, staring down at the floor in growing hopelessness, "Salem is barely of any threat compared to the new enemy that you brought along."

The silence hung over them, heavy and stifling. Then Gohan got up, looking at Qrow, his face hard and set.

"Krillin and I promised to train Team RNJR to the best of our abilities. They all have amazing potential to become just as powerful as us. As for Salem, we will still help you stop her plans. While Frieza is far more dangerous, let us deal with the enemy that we can stop before chasing the one that will kill us instantly."

Krillin got up as well, nodding in agreement. Even Dende had lost his worried expression, replaced by confidence and devoid of fear.

Qrow stared at the three of them. Then he smirked, closing his flask and lying down.

"You guys maybe our only hopes in surviving this. Thank god you also inspire hope."

* * *

The small ferry docked at the tiny wooden slip, shaking slightly as it bumped into the side. The ferry lowered its front wall, and the driver tipped his hat as the yellow motorcycle drove out onto the path and sped away, leaving a small cloud of dust.

"That was excruciatingly slow," Vegeta complained as they rode through a dense forest, trees hanging over the path, "How do you travel like that?"

At the front, Yang snorted.

"Well, unlike you Mister Prince, we can't run at high speeds or fly faster than jet planes. Besides, that was the only way to get onto the continent of Anima from the island of Patch."

Vegeta just grunted but said nothing else and simply closed his eyes. It had now been more than half a day since they had left from Yang's place in search for her sister. Their first goal was to try and locate a bandit village owned by Yang's mother.

Yang was not sure how she felt about trying to find her mother. Ever since she was a child, she had wanted to find her to ask her why she had left. But as she had grown older, the fascination began dying down. Now, if they did find her, she didn't know what she would say. She didn't even know how she would feel. Happiness? Resentment? Rage? It was unclear.

She shook her head, wanting to get the thoughts out of her head. First, they needed to find her. She called back to her brooding companion, "Hey, can you try using your energy to sense for my mother. My dad says she's a decently powerful Huntsmen so maybe you could find her."

Vegeta didn't respond immediately. They drove in silence. After a few moments, he finally said gruffly, "I can sense a few small power levels scattered around, but they are all so small that I can't say which one would be your so called 'powerful' mother."

Yang rolled her eyes, so used to his rude remarks that it barely affected her anymore.

"So much for that. Is everyone you know just so much more powerful?"

"Yes," Vegeta answered flatly, not wanting to get into a conversation.

Yang didn't push any further. She groaned in annoyance, but she revved her bike and drove down the path, thinking about where a bandit village would be.

Suddenly, Vegeta started, falling off the back of the bike. Yang screeched to a halt, looking back quickly to see if the Prince was alright.

The fall had not harmed him in the slightest. He had not even felt it. But his arms were trembling, and his face was tense. He looked to his left, staring directly into the woods as if seeing through them. Yang ran up next to him.

"Hey, you okay? What's going on Getes?"

"Kakarot… it's Kakarots energy," he stuttered, "In that direction, coming towards us."

Yang's eyes widened. She ran back to her bike and drove back next to Vegeta. She offered him a hand.

"Come on, let's go to him."

He glanced at her, his trembling face slowly changing back to his usual smug smirk. The expression made Yang's face heat up in anger.

"Hmph," he grunted, "We don't need him. Let's just continue onward-"

Fear and anger overcame Yang and she lost herself for a second.

"WHAT ABOUT FRIEZA!? DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO IT WITHOUT HELP?!"

Vegeta glowered at her, his eyes flashing dangerously. But Yang didn't back down, staring down at him.

"Do you want to avenge your people?" she asked, her voice calm but low. Vegeta growled angrily.

"What are you-"

"If you want to avenge them, you will need all the help you need. You told me that yourself. For once in your life, forget your pride and let someone who has the same goal in mind help you!"  
For a few seconds, Yang was sure she had gone too far. There was nothing she could do if Vegeta decided to kill her.

However, Vegeta grunted, turning away from her and staring in the direction where he had sensed the energy.

"Follow me girl. If you can't keep up, I won't come back for you."

Then he began sprinting forward into the woods, Yang revving her bike quickly to pursue him. They weaved between trees, Vegeta having no trouble at all while Yang was on high alert. One wrong turn and her motorcycle would go crashing into a tree.

"Hey Getes, can I ask you something?" she called out to Vegeta as they sped through the woods, "Not that I'm complaining or anything, but you seem to be very lenient with me. Back there, that was like the fifth time I thought you would kill me."

To her surprise, Vegeta responded relatively quickly.

"Not worth the effort."

"Oh, of course," Yang sighed, wondering why she had thought otherwise.

"Also, because your attitude reminds of other Saiyans," he continued, catching her attention, "Besides, your potential should not be wasted. That being said, watch your tone and words carefully."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Yang said in a fake voice. But she was smiling as she drove behind the proud prince.

"Also," he said, "What the hell is a 'Getes'?"

Yang laughed, causing Vegeta to slow down and stop. Yang stopped her bike next to him, still chortling. Vegeta scowled at her, his arms crossed, clearly waiting for an answer.

Once Yang calmed down a little, she said, choking a little, "It's a nickname for you. I thought about it and Getes kinda sounds cooler than Vegeta. I mean, saying Vegeta makes me think of vegetables. But Prince Getes," she spread her hands a little as if trying to show Vegeta a rainbow, "Now that has a good ring to it."

Vegeta scowl only deepened. But he said nothing and began running once more, Yang following behind. As they went, she could hear him muttering and she thought she heard him say "Getes" a few times.

They continued on for a few minutes, Vegeta leading them deeper into the forest. As they did, the area seemed to get darker as the trees became closer together and their canopies covered the sky's embrace over them.

Just as Yang was beginning to get worried that she wouldn't be able to drive through the dense overgrowth, Vegeta suddenly stopped in a small clearing, looking to his left. She could see his eyebrows rising and she sped up. Anything that interested the Prince was definitely worth checking out. She hit the brakes on her bike and skidded to a halt beside Vegeta, following his stare. She gasped, suddenly wondering if they had really just hit a jackpot.

Just beyond the clearing, a large tribal camp was laid out in the middle of the forest. Around the territory, tall wooden walls stood with small watch towers placed accordingly. Through the entrance, they could see the leather skin tents lined on either side of one straight path that led up to one large leather skin tent, clearly the chief's place.

Despite being a tribe of bandits in the middle of the forest, they were dressed in much more than stereotypical loin cloths and sheep skin. Some of the tribe members wore travelling cloaks over buttoned shirts and cargo pants. Others wore vests and jeans. The woman wore all kinds of clothes, from dresses to simple pants. Every single one of them had a type of weapon on them.

"Is this?" Yang said quietly, sliding off her bike and staring at the tribe. Vegeta shrugged, looking away now and back in the direction of Kakarots energy signal.

As they stood there, a group of four bandits walked over, eyeing them suspiciously. Two of them were females wielding wicked looking swords while the other two were males wielding shiny silver handguns.

"Oi!" one of the men called out, "Whatcha think ya doin here? You think you can just walk by Miss Raven's territory."

Yang started at the name, mouthing it to herself. Vegeta glanced at her questioningly.

"Raven. That's my mother's name," Yang said slowly, barely believing they had just run into her mother's tribe by complete accident, "This is the place."

Vegeta smirked. "Well then, let's go and talk to this woman and get your sister."

"What about your friend?" Yang asked. Vegeta glanced to his right for second, thinking for a second before responding, "He isn't too far and is still coming in this direction. Probably means he sensed my energy. If we stay here for a bit, he will join us."

"OI!"

The bandit yelled angrily at them, raising his gun and pointing towards the duo.

"Now you listen here! You get outta here right now or we are gonna hang you out to dry!"

The other bandits behind him readied their weapons as well, smirking in excitement. Yang cocked her gauntlet and flexed her robotic arm, ready for a fight. Vegeta, however, just yawned and leaned against Bumblebee.

"Alright girl!" he drawled, "Time for some training. I want you to take out all four of them in less than a minute without getting hit and only using your left arm."

Yang stared at him, wondering if she heard him right. Even the bandits looked surprised. Vegeta simply held out his hand. When Yang didn't do anything, he barked, "Robotic Arm and Gauntlet! Now!"

Yang grumbled. This was no time for a training session! They needed to see her mother and get her to take them to Uncle Qrow! But she knew that disobeying Vegeta was the last thing she wanted to do.

Still grumbling irritably, she detached her robotic right arm and tossed it to Vegeta before doing the same with the gauntlet on her left. He caught them silently, putting them next to him and crossing his arms.

"Your one minute begins now."

Yang turned back to the bandits and charged forward right away, catching them off guard. Before the leader could fire his gun, she came up right to him and delivered a powerful punch into his gut. Even with just one arm, it was powerful enough to knock the wind of the man. He cried out, dropping his gun and collapsed to the floor, holding his gut and moaning in pain.

The other bandits snapped out of their shock. The other man raised his gun ready to fire. Yang quickly ducked behind a tree, feeling the bullets hitting the other side. She then heard approaching footsteps and jump backed from the tree just in time to dodge the two girls with swords. They began advancing, brandishing their swords menacingly and grinning cruelly.

Meanwhile, the man with the gun saw his associates corner Yang. He smirked, quite sure that the one-armed blonde would be taken care of now. He turned to see Vegeta, still leaning against the bike, his eyes closed. The bandits smirk only widened as he pointed his handgun towards Vegeta's head and fired a shot. The bullet raced to its target and the man grinned, knowing it would hit true. However, just before it hit, Vegeta's hand suddenly swept up and caught the bullet in midair between his thumb and index finger. The man gaped in astonishment, rubbing his eyes to make sure he was seeing things right. Did that spikey haired man just catch a flying bullet? With his eyes closed?!

Vegeta's expression didn't even change. Instead, he simply used his finger to flick the bullet back at the bandit. The bullet flew back, traveling faster than it had from the gun, and hit the bandit square in the forehead. The man's eyes rolled back, and he slumped to the floor nearby the man who had been punched by Yang, who looked up to his dead comrade fall to the ground. His eyes widened, and he uttered a hoarse grunt of shock. Than he scrambled to his feet and staggered as fast he could to the tribal village. Vegeta did not move, uncaring of what the bandit did.

As for Yang, she was busy trying not to be turned into a shish-kebab. She swerved sharply, avoiding the sharp blades as the girls attacked viciously.

"Why did you have to take away all my stuff?" Yang thought to herself, glowering as she thought about her robotic arm and gauntlet, resting next to Vegeta, "I could have been done easily without it."

One of the girls suddenly lunged forward, stabbing her sword forward. Yang dodged to the side and for a split-second, as she basically stood side by side with the girl, an instinct kicked in. She quickly drove her fist right into the bandit's stomach before elbowing the stunned bandit in the head, knocking her out.

The other bandit stared for a second, a flash of fear crossing her face. Meanwhile, Yang was just as surprised with what she had done. She had never been able to act so quickly in the midst of battle and pull off such a move. Than it hit her. She had performed a counter. The thing that Vegeta had been using on her every time she attempted to hit him in combat training.

"Brilliant…," she marveled, examining her left hand. She didn't think Vegeta's teachings would begin to rub off so quickly.

She looked up to see the other bandit hadn't moved yet. She smirked mockingly, gesturing for her to come at her. The bandit reddened and screamed, charging forward, sword raised. It was such a rash and clumsy attack that Yang had no problem countering it. She sidestepped and stuck out her leg, tripping the bandit up. As the bandit fell, she crouched down quickly and delivered a final punch to the ribs, sending the bandit flying to the side and crashing into a tree.

Yang stood up, wiping her brow and returning back to Vegeta, a new-found confidence rushing through her. Only a few days of training had already improved her in real combat.

"Took you fifty-two seconds," Vegeta commented as she approached, "And you didn't get hit."

"So, I passed, didn't I?" she said grinning and putting her robotic arm and gauntlet back on. Vegeta scowled. He pointed to the dead bandit a few feet away.

"You left one. He attacked me, which of course was the last mistake he ever made. The other one you hit ran off into the village."

Yang stared at the bandit's corpse, her face whitening slightly She was a tough girl, able to keep her stomach easily with most things. But death had always been something that had unnerved her.

"You killed him?" she asked shakily.

"Course I did," Vegeta replied calmly, "You should have done the same with the other three. Dead people don't talk."

Yang looked at him, seeing that he was completely serious. "But that's inhumane and wrong. You can knock them out or defeat them until they can't fight. But kill them?!"

"You sound just like Kakarot," Vegeta snarled, glaring at Yang, "You are both too soft. It will get you killed one day."

Yang was about to argue, angry at the Prince's dismissiveness of murder, when a woman's voice interrupted her.

"Chief Raven will see you now."

The two looked up to see a teenage girl, about Yang's age, standing at the entrance. She had a smug air about her, a smirk present on her face. She wore a gray vest, sleeves cut off at the shoulders, and brown pants. On one arm, she had an elaborate tattoo designed along it. In each hand, she held crescent shaped blades with a handle in the center next to a handgun attachment.

"And who are you?" Yang asked, smarting slightly at the girl's snobbish demeanor.

The girl's smirk only widened, seeing she had gotten under Yang's skin. She made a mocking bow while saying, "My name is Vernal, lieutenant to Chief Raven, though I am also a dear friend to her. I'm almost like the daughter she never had."

She looked up to see Yang's furious reaction.

"THAT'S IT!" Yang marched forward, ready to beat Vernal to the ground, but Vegeta stepped in front of her. He looked at Vernal, his dark eyes piercing through her.

"Enough of this nonsense. Take us to your chief before I have you join the idiot laying there."

He gestured to the dead bandit nearby. Vernal stepped back, her demeanor faltering slightly. Just by looking at him, she could tell that he was not bluffing.

"Follow me," she said curtly, trying to hide her moment of weakness. She turned on her heel and began walking down the path, Vegeta and Yang following behind, the latter towing her bike along and grumbling angrily.

As they walked through the tribal village, the tribes people watched them closely, but made no move to attack. Even if they had permission to, some looked afraid, staring at Vegeta as he walked by quietly. It seemed the bandit that had witnessed the death of his comrade had spread the word quickly about Vegeta's power.

After what seemed like an hour, Vernal reached the big tent at the end of the path. Here she turned and raised her arm towards it.

"Presenting Chief Raven!"

The other tribes people yelled in assent. As Yang and Vegeta watched, the flaps to the tent opened and a tall woman stepped out. Her face was covered in a white mask resembling a Grimm, but her long black hair flowed behind her. Her robes and combat skirt were colored red and black. Slung on her belt, a large black sheath held her long sword, complete with dust cartridges to use as ammo for the firearm function.

She looked down at the two visitors, no expression visible behind the white mask. Then she spoke, her voice deep and not at all feminine.

"So, you have finally come. It has been years since I last saw you, Yang."

"Mother," Yang glared back at the woman, resentment suddenly boiling up, "You see your daughter for the first time in years and you greet her wearing a hideous mask?"

Around them, the bandits cried out in outrage, advancing. Vernal cocked her crescent blades, staring daggers at Yang. But Chief Raven held up her hand and the they all backed off, though their venomous expressions were still present.

Raven then raised her hands to the mask and slowly pulled it off to reveal a beautiful but stern face, dotted with two blood red eyes. She dropped the mask beside her and stared down at her daughter, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"Is that better sweetie?" she mocked, earning a chorus of laughs from her tribe. Yang clenched her fists but forced herself not to charge forward. Instead, she looked up at Raven and as she looked into her mother's face, a sudden sadness overwhelmed her.

"Why mom? Why leave me and dad to live in a place like this?"

The laughter died out immediately. Raven's smirk melted, a cold stare replacing it. Her red eyes narrowed.

"You may have my looks, but you are your father," she spat, "Weak and always caring about the wrong things."

Yang started forward, her anger flaring up. "How dare you talk about dad like that! Besides, how do you know what I-"

"Because I can see it," Raven cut in, "Sometimes, you can see a person's ideals just by looking at them. Like your companion," she turned to look at Vegeta who was standing with his shoulder facing her and his eyes closed, "He is a powerful man, ready to do what is needed no matter the cost."

Vegeta grunted slightly. Than he smirked and said smoothly, "Well, well, someone on this planet has some idea of reality. Even if they are still pathetically weak."

His jeers echoed around the tribe. At first, no one moved. Than Vernal sprang forward, her crescent blades flashing as she leaped at Vegeta. Before Yang or any of the other bandits realized what was going on, Vegeta swiftly caught Vernal by the throat and held her aloft, slowly tightening his grip on her. Dropping her weapons, Vernal clawed at his hands, trying to free herself, but with no avail.

"VERNAL BACK DOWN NOW!" Raven roared, stepping forward and glaring at Vegeta, though her red eyes seemed to be slightly worried. Vernal went limp in his grip, obeying her chief's order despite it possibly costing her life. Vegeta just snorted and threw her down in front of Raven, where she lay choking and hacking.

"You're lucky your chief knows her place," Vegeta said darkly, "I would have had no problem ending your life there."

"Vegeta!" Yang hissed angrily, "Remember! I need my mother to take me to my uncle!"

Raven heard her and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"So, Tai told you… figures. And why would I help you in the first place?"

Yang glowered at Raven, who just glowered right back. Daughter and mother stared each other down, neither of them backing down. The entire tribe was silent as they watched the two's mental battle. Even Vernal had stopped choking to watch. Nothing stirred. No one moved.

Than a sudden faint noise caught their attention. Running footsteps, growing louder every second. Then a female voice suddenly cried out, "Wait Goku! Don't go in! That's a bandit tribal camp!"

Yang, Vegeta, Raven and all the bandits whirled around to stare at the entrance as a man in orange martial arts clothes sprinted towards them. A little behind him, a teenage girl in a white combat skirt ran behind him, panting in exhaustion. Yang's and Vegeta's faces both tensed as they approached, finally stopping only a few paces away. The two pairs stared at each other, silent for a second. Than the man in martial arts clothing smiled.

"Hey Vegeta."

"Kakarot," Vegeta replied coldly.

"Yang!?" Weiss cried, startled to see her old teammate.

"Weiss!?" Yang cried, just as startled.

Their reunion was cut short as the bandits finally moved, waking up from their daze, surrounding them. They growled and raised their weapons.

"Halt!"

Raven called out, her voice harsh but calm. The bandits obeyed, backing away and allowing her to approach the group. She examined the two newcomers critically, her eyes narrowing on Goku.

"Friends of yours Yang?"

Yang rubbed the back of her awkwardly. "Yes. Uh, the girl is Weiss and the guy is I believe Goku."

"Correct!" Goku said smiling at her.

"Wrong!" Vegeta snapped at her.

Raven and Weiss raised an eyebrow, looking at Vegeta in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked, "His name is Goku."

Vegeta groaned in annoyance. "His real Saiyan name is Kakarot. He calls himself Goku after living on Earth."

Now everyone looked confused, trying to figure out what he meant. Goku just chuckled a little.

"It's a long story. We can discuss it later though," his expression became suddenly serious and he turned to Vegeta, "I'm guessing you know who else is here?"

Vegeta snorted. "Ah no. I have no idea who you mean Kakarot. Cities get blown off the map all the time here, haven't you heard?"

His attempt at a joke was not met with any laughter. The two members of Team RWBY winced painfully, remembering what had happened to Beacon. Raven however, looked at him confused.

"I'm sorry, what kind of joke is that?"

Yang looked up in shock, realizing what that comment meant.

"Wait, mom. Do you not know what happened to the city of Vale and Beacon?"

Raven scowled. "Of course, I know. Salem's forces attacked along with the White Fang. That happened several months ago."

Now Yang and Weiss looked confused.

"Salem?" they repeated in unison, unfamiliar with the name.

Before the conversation could go on, thunder boomed overhead, signaling incoming rain. Goku gestured to Raven's tent.

"How about we take this discussion inside? It seems there is a lot of explaining to do on both sides and I'd rather do it without getting soaked," then he added, "I could also use something to eat."

Raven considered his offer for a few seconds. Then she turned to Vernal.

"Have the chefs prepare food and drinks for our guests. We will be dining in my tent as we talk."

Vernal bowed and went to carry out her order, flashing Yang and Weiss a wicked look as she passed by.

"Come with me," Raven said, heading towards her tent, "Let us exchange information… as a sign of peace."

The four glanced at each other. They all silently agreed. They followed the bandit chief inside her tent.

* * *

Lord Frieza sat on his throne, watching as the Frieza soldiers carried in the large metal cases into the throne room, careful not to ruin the carpet. Next to him, Adam watched as well, looking moderately better as his aura healed him of his injuries. On the arm of the throne, Frieza's mobile scroll sat, currently on a voice call with Captain Ginyu.

As the last cases were brought in, Frieza leaned over to Adam. "What are those hideous symbols on those boxes?" He was referring to a logo in the shape of two gears around each other, a torch or spear going through them.

"That would be the Atlas kingdom sigil my lord," Adam responded.

Frieza gave a small grunt of disgust but said nothing else as the last few cases were put on the floor. Now, the throne room was filled with over two hundred crates, each one flanked by two Frieza soldiers. One half of the room had larger square boxes while the other half were smaller and more rectangular.

Frieza got up, using his telekinetic powers to float the scroll next to him. He strolled down the middle aisle, inspecting his new loot.

"All the cases have arrived Ginyu," he said to the scroll, "What am I to expect in them?"

Ginyu's voice spoke from the scroll, excitement evident as he was given the chance to serve his lord, "A fantastic question my lord! Let us begin with the larger crates."

Frieza turned to one of the larger crates. He nodded to the soldiers flanking it and they bowed, unlatching the lid and pulling it open. Inside, the crate contained three full sets of shiny white armor and sophisticated looking guns and swords.

"So, this must be the specialized armor and weapons that you mentioned Adam," Frieza said, his eyes glinting as examined the brilliantly crafted items, imagining their use in combat. Adam nodded and Ginyu said from the scroll, "Very good my lord! Yes, the armor and weapons are specially designed to use the material known as dust to add protection and elemental factors to the ammo."

Frieza nodded, now turning to the smaller cases on the other side of the hall. He went towards one, gestured once more to the flanking soldiers and they opened the case. Inside, rows upon rows of small different colored crystal objects lay. They shined as the light from the ceiling hit them, reflecting off of Frieza's red eyes as his wicked grin widened.

"Ah, this must be the dust I have heard so much about! I must say, they do look quite appealing."

"I agree my lord," Ginyu said, "However, they also have amazing properties. As you can see, they are many different colors of dust. Each color is a different element that can be used to boost armor or power up weapons. All the dust you see there is compatible with the special armor and weapons. We made sure to test them on some... volunteers before we shipped them over."

His sneer was audible through the scroll when he said "volunteers".

"Very good Ginyu," Frieza said, picking up a red dust crystal and examining it closely, "You have quite outdone yourself."

There was a pause, probably Ginyu bowing or posing.

"My lord, I do not deserve such praise from you. Besides, it was your idea to check the supplies we found in the mansion and nearby military bases."

Frieza's face suddenly twisted into an evil look, the reflection in the red crystal seemingly portraying the devil.

"That reminds me, there must be a central military base somewhere there. I think it's time you pay them a visit and 'politely' ask for their equipment."

Ginyu laughed cruelly. "Yes, I believe you are right my lord! It shall be done!"

The scroll went dark as Ginyu hung up and went to carry out his orders. Frieza walked back to his throne, still holding the red dust crystal in his hand. Adam followed behind him, signaling to the Frieza soldiers to take the cases away to the store rooms.

Frieza sat back on his throne, turning the dust crystal between his fingers as the cases were taken away. As the light caught the dust, he suddenly saw faces in it. The faces of Vegeta and those other brats that had taken away his opportunity for immortality.

His grin melted, replaced by rising anger. His scouter had not picked up anything else significant since the energy in Atlas. It didn't help that when Ginyu had arrived, the user was already gone and the description that had been given did not fit Vegeta or any of the brats, which means…

"There's more," he snarled under his breath. His fist closed around the dust, shattering it into a million pieces. As red mist floated out from the remains, his snarl twisted into an ugly smirk. Seeing the red mist reminded the lives he needed to end.

 **Trouble is on the horizon as Lord Frieza strengthens his army with the addition of dust. Meanwhile, Blake and Piccolo begin their journey to Gohan as he travels with Team RNJR to Mistral City. Goku and Vegeta have finally met up along with Weiss and Yang, awaiting answers from the bandit leader Raven Branwen. In Mistral, Oscar and Bulma have recruited a new unlikely ally with the promise of a new communication device. As the forces of good slowly begin to congregate, the forces of evil prepare for mass genocide! Will the heroes be able to prevent it? Find out next time on Dragon Ball R!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Authors Note: Hello everyone! Welcome back to another chapter of Dragon Ball R! I hope you mates enjoyed your holidays! Once again, thanks for all the positive support in the reviews, really means a lot!**

 **Before we get into the story, I want to let you guys know that the first chapter has been polished up a little. Some of the descriptions have been toned down and some of the info dumps have been shortened or cut out entirely. However, it the story itself has not been changed due to it being already too late to do so. But, I wanted to make sure that the 1st chapter, which is easily my least popular chapter to date, is more appealing for new viewers and veterans alike. But, if I missed anything, PLEASE, let me know. I want to make sure this story is a pleasant experience for all my readers.**

 **Anyway, I think that's enough chit chat for now, let's get into the story!**

 **Last time on Dragon Ball R, Team JNPR and their new friends have finally gotten onto an airship heading to Mistral after defeating a dangerous Grimm. Meanwhile, Goku and Weiss have met up with Vegeta and Yang in the bandit village led by Raven. Blake and her friends have begun their journey over the sea towards the continent of Anima, in hopes of finding Piccolo's good friend Gohan. Oscar and Bulma have found a new ally in Neo and are hoping to create a communication device for her to cement their friendship. In the dark lands of Remnant, Salem is determined to follow through with her plans, training Cinder to master her powers for an upcoming battle. And above them all, Lord Frieza has found a use for Atlas, acquiring high-tech equipment for his Frieza Force. His overwhelming presence is beginning to overcome the world of Remnant, tearing down people who have stood for years and even cities that have stood the test of time. How long till the whole world falls under him? Today: The Fateful Meeting! A Storm Grows Over Mistral!**

* * *

The sun was beginning to set as the airships touched down in the center of Mistral City. The side doors slid open and the occupants jumped out, staring around them as they marveled at the beautiful city. After residing in moist forests and dreary rundown villages for the past few days, the change of scenery was so jarring to them, it caused slight vertigo.

"Wow…," was all Ruby could say as the airships lifted off behind them. No one else responded. "Wow" was enough.

The sight was even more remarkable for Gohan, Krillin and Dende. For Gohan, who had only really lived in a small house in the mountains with his mother and father or wastelands with Mister Piccolo after his father had died, this valley city was a culture shock for him.

Krillin, though quite familiar with large cities on Earth, was simply astounded with the sheer beauty of Mistral. Most cities on Earth were quite simply built, with regular streets and buildings with the occasional park or statue. But this place… it felt more like a setting some sort of old fairy tale.

Finally, Dende, who had only ever lived in a small and quiet village on Namek, was trying desperately to drink in all his surroundings. It was so alien to him, but at the same time, it was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.

For a few moments, the group simply stood silently in the city square, admiring the beauty around them. Then Qrow cleared his throat and began walking down a side street.

"Come on," he said, his voice not full of wonder or excitement about the city, "Let's get to our lodgings."

That brought the others back to reality.

"Lodgings?" Nora asked curiously as they began to follow him, "You mean you have a place here?"

Qrow let out a bark of laughter.

"That's funny. No, but I do have a friend who can let us stay at an apartment of his that he never uses. Should be big enough for us."

He smirked back at Ren, Jaune, Krillin and Gohan. "Though, you will all be living under the same roof. So, boys… be mindful."

Team RNJR blushed deeply, avoiding each other's looks. Ruby tried to yell, "Uncle Qrow!" but it only came out as a weak mumble. Even Krillin looked slightly uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his head in an awkward manner. Only Gohan and Dende seemed confused.

"Krillin what does he mean?" Gohan asked curiously, noting everyone's flustered expressions.

Everyone stared at him, remembering that despite his strength and maturity, Gohan was still a four-year-old kid. Qrow chuckled a little to himself.

"Nothing kid. Don't you worry about it."

They continued down the side street that Qrow was leading them down. No one spoke, looking around them and taking in the elaborate apartments that lined the street. A few times, they got side tracked by something they saw and had to be called back by Qrow. As they walked, they barely noticed they were slowly going uphill.

After about half an hour, in which it was a miracle the group were still all in one place, they finally reached a street lined with small apartments. Qrow looked closely at the apartment numbers displayed on each as he tried to locate the right number.

"Here we are," he said when he finally found it. The group behind him stopped and examined their new home.

Like all the apartments on the street, it was relatively compact. Just a two-story brick town house with a window on the ground floor and two windows on the second. There was no front yard or lawn, just a small doormat in front of the door.

Qrow some of the disappointed looks on their faces and gave them a small grin.

"Don't worry. There is a nice large back yard with a space that overlooks the valley."

He stepped forward and fished out a small key from his pocket. He inserted it into the door's keyhole and turned. A small click sounded, and he pushed the door open, gesturing for the group to enter. Once they did, their disappointment disappeared.

The interior was a cozy and fully furnished with a living room, kitchen, dining area, bathrooms and two flights of stairs leading up and down respectively. Going upstairs, they found five separate rooms, each with a queen-sized bed and a large closet. Downstairs, they found a door that led out to a large wooden patio looking out over the city of Mistral. The view was stunning, showing the bustling city below, nestled in the valley created by the surrounding mountains.

"HELLO MISTRAL!" Nora yelled out from the patio, unable to contain her excitement. The others couldn't blame her. Compared to living in the woods during the journey, this was equivalent to heaven.

"What did you do for your friend that allowed you access to this place?" Krillin asked Qrow curiously as they headed back into the living room. Qrow chortled a little.

"Helped him out with something concerning his job. He couldn't pay cash at the time, so he told me that if I ever needed it, I could use this place. Even now, after he paid me the necessary cash, he said I could still use it."

"I gotta say," Jaune said, sitting down on the sofa in the living room, "You got a steal."

"You're telling me," Qrow said, "Anyway, you guys get yourself comfortable here. Decide which rooms are yours upstairs. Some people need to share. Pantry is full, so you can make yourself some food."

Ruby raised her eyebrow at him.

"You off somewhere Uncle Qrow?"

Qrow headed towards the front door, glancing behind him and smiling gently at his niece.

"Don't worry squirt. I just want to hit up a tavern I know. Haven't been to one in a while."

Ruby rolled her eyes. She never understood her uncle's obsession with alcohol and honestly thought it quite horrid. But she supposed he needed to unwind himself and a tavern did seem like the place he would do so best at.

She smiled at him sweetly. "Alright. Be safe out there."

"Don't burn the place down while I'm gone," he replied smirking, "Relax for now. It may be the last chance we have for a while."

With that, he opened the door and left, leaving Ruby to swallow the ominous message. She looked down at her hands and found them shaking slightly.

Breathing deeply, Ruby tried to calm herself. She knew all too well that her uncle was right. Despite all this excitement, their reason for being in Mistral was far from fun. They were here to enlist the help of Haven Academy in their fight against Cinder and her master Salem. Of course, even that was small compared to the true threat that was looming over Remnant. A threat that seemed too impossible to get rid of.

Images began flooding into her head. She saw the image of Cinder holding a crystal bow and standing over a dying Pyrrha Nikos. She saw armies of dark Grimm ravaging the land, killing indiscriminately.

Then the worst image of all. She saw a small tombstone on a hill, the words "Summer Rose" on them. Orange leaves drifted along, carried by the breeze. Suddenly, the hill crumbled carrying the grave down with it as a giant dark woman erupted from the ground, towering over the landscape and staring down at Ruby. She tried to run, but her legs wouldn't work. The dark witch leaned down toward her, reaching out her hand to crush the frozen Huntsmen. Suddenly, it let out a horrible cry of pain. In front of Ruby's eyes, it disintegrated into dark tendrils that were carried away by the wind.

She looked down at where the giant witch had stood and saw a strange figure standing there, about her size. It was obscured in shadow and Ruby tried to see who it was. Then she froze, a terror like no other causing her to quickly back away. But it was too late. The wind around her died down completely. The background noise fell away and was replaced by laughter. Cold, evil, heartless laughter that promised Ruby fate far worse than death.

She turned and ran away, but the landscape crumbled around her. She looked back to see the figure and found herself staring into a large red sphere. An eye.

Ruby felt a light tug on her sleeve and the vision snapped. Her breath came to her in shallow bursts as she realized she was still standing in their new apartment. Around her, she heard the sounds of her friends chatting and moving about in the kitchen, preparing food. Then she glanced down and saw Gohan smiling up at her, looking kindly but concerned.

"Are you okay Ruby," he asked quietly so the others would not hear, "You seemed to shut down for a second."

Ruby tried to respond, tell him she was perfectly fine, but she could not even bring herself to lie. Gohan frowned slightly, seeing her discomfort. He gently pulled her hand and led her upstairs and into one of the bedrooms.

"Gohan?" Ruby asked, wondering what he was doing.

Gohan sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to him. Ruby sat, still slightly confused.

"I just wanted to talk somewhere the others wouldn't hear," he said, looking down at the floor, "I don't want to bring down their mood."

He looked at her, and Ruby wondered if he truly was only four-years-old.

"Now, tell me what's wrong. I can tell something happened."

At first, Ruby was hesitant to tell him everything. But soon enough, it all came flowing out. She told him about her visions, especially about the last one that was still stuck in her mind. She even went deeper, telling him about her deceased mother Summer Rose and how she had never known her, only hearing stories from her sister Yang. She described how she visited her tombstone every once in a while, to feel connected with her every once in a while. But she never could envision her mother.

Gohan listened quietly, not interrupting once. His expression was gentle as Ruby tried to keep herself together. When she finished, he didn't say anything right away, processing everything she said.

"That last vision," she asked when he didn't say anything for a few moments, "What do you think it meant?"

"If I had to guess," Gohan said slowly, "I would say your mother's grave was a symbol of everything and everyone you loved. The dark woman emerging would probably be that Salem witch that Qrow talked about, destroying everything you loved. And then," he paused and tensed.

"Frieza?" Ruby asked quietly.

Gohan nodded. "Destroying absolutely everything."

Ruby looked at him, feeling the dread in her building up. The situation had never felt more hopeless. Despite this, Ruby found herself asking Gohan, "Have you ever seen Frieza?"

Gohan's frowned deepened into a scowl. Ruby could see he was seeing images of his own now, dark memories.

"Only twice. The first time, he was torturing Dende's village, asking them for their Dragon Ball while killing them one by one. The screams of the villagers only seemed to bring joy and laughter to him. The second time was when he found me, Krillin, Dende and Vegeta next to the broken Dragon Balls. At first, his tone was polite and pleasant as he looked over us. But soon his rage broke through and burst forth as he screamed how we had taken away his wish for immortality. He charged forward and I remembering thinking at that moment that no force in the universe would save me from death. Then, a light flashed, and I suddenly found myself with you guys."

He stopped, glancing over at Ruby and seeing her terrified expression. He offered her a weak smile.

"Sorry. That's not helping to make you feel better."

Ruby shook her head, laughing weakly. "It's fine. You have been so considerate so far. I can barely believe you are only four."

Gohan blushed a little, looking down.

"My mom was determined to have me become a studious person that could get a high paying job and do ground breaking research. Or maybe just someone that wasn't the exact same as my father."

Ruby winced slightly. "Oh. Sorry if this is a touchy subject."

Gohan looked at her blankly. "What do you mean? She just didn't want my life to revolve around fighting."

Ruby reddened deeply.

"Oh! Oh of course!" Ruby said, louder than usual. Gohan looked confused but Ruby was just thankful he didn't the realize the implication she had thought of. After all, though, he was still four.

"If that's the case then," Ruby said, trying to bring the conversation around, "Why are you so

strong? Did you just inherit it from your father?"

Gohan nodded his head and Ruby saw his face soften.

"Partially. Before I even started training, I apparently had a high amount of energy for someone as young as me, which I can only guess comes from my father. But that's not exactly why I am quite strong now."

He paused a little, a sad smile playing on his lips.

"After my father died on Earth, Mister Piccolo took me in. He trained me, wanting to use me for his efforts in taking over the world. But something changed in him overtime and he ended up sacrificing himself for me. He had grown fond of me, I guess. I was fond of him from the start, seeing the good in him. But he was the one that really started my training. Since then, I have kept up with my training, but I also try to learn about other things and stay studious so as to keep my mother satisfied," here his face once again became sad and tight, "I wonder how she is doing back on Earth…"

Ruby's heart throbbed with sympathy. As someone who had never known her own mother, she could barely imagine how Gohan felt, being away from the mother he knew and loved dearly. However, despite all of that, he had stayed strong and confident in front of his new friends, pushing his own feelings behind and focusing on the present.

"You maybe four in age," Ruby began, "But in spirit, you are no less than one hundred."

Gohan chuckled a little.

"Does that mean I'm an old dying man in a young growing kid?"

They laughed together, enjoying each other's company and temporarily forgetting about the troubles that loomed over them. It was nice to just laugh and have fun for once.

As their laughter petered out, Gohan smiled kindly at Ruby.

"Look Ruby, I know that what is in front of us seems impossible. I have seen that before. But," he put a hand on her shoulder, "There is always a way out. Especially if you keep on going and have your friends with you to support you. And you have that in abundance."

Ruby looked at him for a second, not saying anything. Then she smiled as well and nodded, ruffling his hair.

"You better believe you have friends in abundance!" a voiced suddenly yelled from the doorway. They turned to see all the others looking in, smiling happily.

"Sorry we didn't knock or anything," Krillin said as they walked inside, "Just didn't want to interrupt the moment."

"That's okay Krillin," Gohan said, smiling widely, "We were just discussing a few things and I didn't want to dampen the mood downstairs."

Jaune nodded but glanced at Ruby pointedly. "We appreciate that. Honestly, we do. But don't ever feel like you can't tell us something."

Ruby got up from the bed and poked Jaune in the chest.

"Don't give me that look Vomit Boy! I know I can!"

He just smiled in response. Beside him, the others simply smiled, enjoying each other's company in the room. They stayed like this for a few minutes, before Nora yelled out, her excitement unable to contain itself, "Alright guys! Let's go down and eat! Ren made pancakes so let's party!"

Ruby and Gohan cheered in delight, bounding after Nora. Before they could leave the room though, Krillin suddenly sped around them and blocked the doorway.

"Now hold on! As the adult here, I'm in charge and as such I need to make sure you people don't destroy the apartment!"

Nora leaned down slightly to look into Krillin's face.

"Adult huh?" she mocked, grinning devilishly.

Everyone burst into laughter. Everyone except for Krillin who muttered, "Short jokes?" But he was smiling a little as well as they began to head downstairs and enjoy some of Ren's signature pancakes together, thoughts of Salem and Frieza leaving their minds.

* * *

Qrow walked down the streets of Mistral, not really thinking of where he was going and allowing his feet to take him down the familiar path to the tavern. This was nice since it allowed his already muddled and crowded mind to think of other things instead. Such as the fact that their mission was practically doomed.

Qrow sighed deeply as he turned down a narrow street. It did not do him well to think like that, but he knew that lying to himself was much worse. Besides, he was quite used to this feeling. As a person whose literal Semblance was bringing bad luck to the ones around him, he had experienced times when things seemed bleak and hopeless. But this was just on a whole other level. How could they, a group of mostly angsty growing up teens defeat a tyrant with the power to effortlessly blow up planets?

He turned down another ally way. As he walked, the beautiful city around him seemed to deteriorate, becoming more rundown. Qrow tried to think of a possible way they could beat this threat, but even with the help of their new superpowered friends, his mind came up with nothing. He jokingly thought that maybe his Semblance could bring bad luck to Frieza. But he had a suspicion that it would do very little if anything to actually defeat the tyrant.

As these depressing thoughts circled around his head, his feet brought him to his destination. He looked up to see a small lonely looking tavern. A small light from the window told him that it was in business.

"At least there are some things in life I can still enjoy," Qrow grumbled, walking to the door and pulling it open.

Inside, he found a peculiar sight. The tavern was mostly empty except for a few people. The bartender, who was wiping a few glasses behind the bar, and a group of three sitting around a table in the corner.

As Qrow squinted at the group, he noticed it to be an odd bunch. One was a young teen boy with grubby farmers clothes. Beside him sat a pristinely dressed woman with brown and pink hair. The two were both starring curiously at the third member of the group, a woman with blue hair intensely working on a small device that looked like a pair of glasses. A few sparks flew out as she connected wires and fixed them into place.

The group were so engaged in their activity, they had not even noticed Qrow's entrance. Qrow stared for a few more seconds before he just shrugged and headed towards the bar. The bartender noticed him approaching and smiled kindly, putting away the glass he was wiping and saying, "Welcome! How can I help you today?"

"A shot of some your strongest whiskey on the rocks please," Qrow said, taking a seat at the bar and leaning his head down on the table. The bartender nodded and began working on the drink. As he did so, he got a good look at Qrow, noticing his black hair and long broadsword strapped to his back. These characteristics seemed to ring a bell and the bartender only had to think for a second to realize why.

"You know," he began, placing the shot in front of Qrow, "I believe that boy over there was looking for someone that looks a lot like you."

Qrow drained the shot in one, coughing slightly at the burn. He raised his eyebrow at the bartender.

"I don't know what you're talking about bud. Never seen that kid and his weird friends."

The bartender chuckled a little.

"I would be careful if I were you. Those three are tougher than they look. Just a few hours ago, they went to get electronics and easily beat up some of the most ruthless thugs in the slums. Though that isn't to say they are thugs themselves. In fact, they have been quite pleasant with me."

"Is that right?" Qrow muttered, not really paying attention, "Well, I will keep that in mind. Can I have another shot here?"

As the bartender poured him another shot, a sudden snap made them turn to look at the corner where the group was. The blue haired woman had just connected the final wire together in the small device. She was now looking over it triumphantly, her companions looking at it in awe.

"Finally!" blue hair said, "This should work perfectly! Trust me, you won't find something like this anywhere around!"

At the bar, Qrow squinted carefully at the device. Now that it was being held up in the light, he saw that the device wasn't a pair of glasses. In fact, he struggled to find something to compare the device to. It was comprised of two main parts; an ear piece that fit comfortably over the wearers ear and a red glass screen attached to the earpiece that would cover one of the wearers eyes.

As he stared at the strange contraption, the blue haired woman handed it to the other woman, smiling happily.

"Just put this on your ear and press the button on the ear piece. Then just move your mouth as if you're trying to say something."

The woman took it tentatively and put on the device over her right ear, the red screen covering her right eye. Everyone in the bar watched with bated breath as she pressed the button on the ear piece. A few beeps sounded from the device, signaling it was on and running.

The brown and pink haired woman paused for a second, taking a few deep breaths. Her face was both excited and afraid. Qrow couldn't quite tell what the big deal was, but he was very interested about what the contraption would do next. For once, he was ignoring the whiskey shot waiting for him on the bar.

After one last breath, the woman opened her mouth and tried to say something. Nothing left her mouth. But a beep sounded on the contraption. Then on the red display, a single word appeared along with a clear and feminine voice emanating from the device.

"Hello."

A deep silence followed. The whole bar stared at the woman and her contraption, not daring to believe it had done what they thought it had done. Even Qrow was staring in astonishment. He had been to many places over the years and seen countless incredible feats of technology. Heck, he had been to Atlas numerous times and seen things that he didn't think possible including a disturbingly accurate human looking robot girl. But even that seemed pale in comparison. Especially when he realized that the blue haired girl had constructed it herself and used tools inferior to the ones in Atlas.

The blue haired girl in question sprang up and squealed in delight. The other woman did the same and they hugged tightly. The farm boy smiled and clapped in delight, a look of absolute shock still evident on his face.

"I can't believe it actually worked!" he said, watching as the brown and pink haired woman said a few more things and cheered in delight and she heard them come out of the device, "Though why do you need the screen to read the text if you can hear it?"

The blue haired woman shrugged her shoulders.

"I just kinda added it for fun. But mainly because the design of this contraption is based off of something I worked with before called the scouter. It doesn't have the same function, but I thought the design was appropriate."

"I think it's all useful!" the ecstatic brown and pink haired girl exclaimed using the scouter, "I can't thank you enough Bulma! I am an all new Neo!"

The blue haired girl, Bulma, laughed happily at the woman's sudden childlike excitement. She looked toward the bar to get the bartender's opinion on the device. Instead, her eyes fell on Qrow. Her breath caught in her throat, causing her companions to glance at her and follow her gaze. Qrow suddenly realized they were all staring at him, their eyes widening.

The moment hung for a few seconds, an uncomfortable silence falling over them. Even the bartender didn't move, not daring to say anything.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the farm boy stood from his seat and approached Qrow. The Huntsmen did not move as the boy stopped before him and cleared his throat, evidently mustering up his courage to say something.

After a few more awkward seconds, he said slowly, "Um, I know that I don't look familiar but," he paused again and raised his hand as if asking for something, "I was told to ask you for my cane back."

Qrow's eyes widened. The boy's words washed over him and the meaning of what he said took only a second to register. It was all so sudden and startling to him that he didn't know how to react.

Suddenly, despite himself, he grinned. He reached for his belt and unhooked a small hilt with a switch. He offered it to the boy, still grinning.

"Good to have you back Oz."

The boy took the hilt and weighed it in his hand, suddenly unsure of what to do. He pressed the switch on the hilt and instantly a long black staff shot out from one end, making it look more like a blunt sword instead of a cane.

Presently, the boy breathed in relief and looked back up at Qrow, a dry smile forming on his face.

"Thanks. That went more smoothly than I thought."

Behind him, his two female companions approached, Neo still touching her new communication device fondly. Bulma eyed Qrow suspiciously, saying to the boy, "You sure this is him Oscar?"

Oscar nodded.

"Yeah, Ozpin is sure of it. Besides, him understanding and having this cane must be evidence enough."

Bulma nodded and dropped her suspicious act, now smiling at Qrow in a friendly manner.

"In that case, my name is Bulma Briefs. Scientist, engineer and the cutie from another world!"

Qrow blinked for a second. Oscar glanced at Bulma in exasperation.

"Maybe that shouldn't be part of your introduction."

Bulma grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I have just been wanting to say that ever since I got here."

Neo rolled her eyes. "Maybe saying you're from another world in general isn't the best idea Bulma."

"Guys!" Oscar hissed, looking nervously at Qrow, expecting at any minute he would get up and leave, thinking them complete nut jobs. The bartender seemed to have this reaction. He turned away from the bar and left through a backdoor, murmuring to himself that he needed a break.

Qrow, however, just grinned once more and said calmly, "Another world eh? Funny you should mention that. It just so happens that I have three companions with that same situation."

That caught the trio's attention. They stared at him in shock as Qrow took this chance to drain his whiskey shot. Then it was nearly knocked out of his hand when Bulma rushed forward and gripped his shoulders tightly, a manic expression on her face.

"WHO!? WHO ARE THEY!?" she spluttered, spit flying onto Qrow's face.

The Huntsmen wiped his face, putting his empty shot glass down. He gently pushed Bulma back a little and eyed the group.

"Look pal," he started sternly, "I think we may have gotten a little too excited here. You maybe Ozpin's new host but I have no reason to tell you everything. Once you have been in my business long enough, you learn to keep information to yourself until you're sure."

Bulma huffed indignantly. Beside her, Neo tensed slightly, her hand drifting to her parasol. Oscar, however, did not seem perturbed. He breathed in deeply and closed his eyes. Suddenly, a slight green aura surrounded him. He opened his eyes once more and Qrow saw that their color had changed.

"I appreciate your caution Qrow," Ozpin's wise voice said, "However, I will personally say that there is no need to hold back info from me or my companions. Bulma is a genius in her field and a real asset to us. So is Neo. She was Roman Torchwick's former sidekick, though after his death she has been searching for revenge. I have told her the real culprit for her bosses' death is Cinder Fall and not your niece, Ruby. Our goal is the same either way."

Qrow said nothing for a few moments, simply staring down at the boy who had just spoken with the voice of a middle-aged man. Then he shook his head, chuckling a little.

"Man, that's just weird. You have told me about your body jumping curse but seeing it is something else. I presume you have told your new companions about our mission then?"

Ozpin hesitated slightly. "Not everything. But I was hoping to do so when you arrived."

Qrow scowled and glanced at Neo and Bulma.

"They may regret following you Oz. Our mission is dangerous, especially now with new… factors."

Ozpin frowned at "new factors".

"So, something has happened. I have been out of the loop recently, but I have a feeling something major is occurring Remnant. Something unruly."

Qrow conveyed a look of surprise. He glanced at Bulma and said accusingly, "Wait, you haven't told him about the bastard that came with you from your world?!"

At first, Bulma looked furious. She started forward and was about to spit out a scathing retort, when she took a second to process his words. Her mind worked quickly and put the dots together rapidly. Her rage disintegrated quickly, replaced by horror.

"No… you don't mean…," she stuttered, her face becoming as blue as her hair. Neo and Ozpin looked at her, concern appearing on their faces.

"Bulma! What's going on?" Neo asked, her new synthetic voice conveying her concern.

Bulma didn't reply for a second, shivering slightly despite the tavern being nice and warm. Eventually, she looked up at Qrow and everyone saw that small tears were pooling at the corners of her eyes.

"I completely forgot about him. I'm not a fighter like my friends so I didn't ever see him. But I have heard of what he can do. If he's here…," she didn't finish her sentence. More accurately, she was unable to finish. The possibilities were too terrible.

"What are you talking about?" Ozpin asked, his normal wise voice cracking slightly, "Qrow what is going on?"

Qrow sighed deeply, the dread he had felt before coming back. Even with Ozpin back in the picture, their situation still seemed beyond hopeless. He told Ozpin and Neo about Lord Frieza, the tyrannical lord who has already started to cause chaos and destruction on Remnant. He showed them the news headlines that he had showed Team RNJR, Gohan, Krillin, and Dende in the forest.

Neo silently gaped at the photos, unable to say anything despite being so excited with her new device. As for Ozpin, he stared at the photo with the crater that used to be the city of Vale and Beacon Academy. His old eyes burned with grief and anger.

"Before you ask Oz," Qrow said as he put away his scroll, "I believe that the Relic in Beacon is still there under the crater. Something tells me we would know if it was destroyed."

Ozpin nodded dumbly, not really hearing him. Qrow turned to Bulma and said as gently as he could, "Um, sorry for not trusting you earlier by the way. The guys with me that are from another world are called Gohan, Krillin, and Dende. Sound familiar?"

Bulma stopped shaking and looked up at him. Her eyes cleared somewhat and despite everything, she gave him a weak smile.

"You bet. Can I see them?"

Qrow nodded, standing up.

"Yeah. I guess you are joining our troop anyway. I will explain more details about our original mission on the way. Like I said before, this whole Frieza thing was far from our original mission."

The group began to head out, Ozpin retreating back in Oscar's mind and allowing Oscar to take control. The boy didn't say anything upon return, too terrified to say anything.

They were just about to leave, when suddenly a strange red portal opened up next to them. They all jumped back in surprise, readying their weapons and staring down the portal. For a second, nothing happened. Nothing sprung out and attacked them.

Then, the sound of a revving of a motorcycle cut through the air, shortly followed by a full-size yellow motorcycle driving out of the portal. The group watched in astonishment as the motorcycle and it's four cramped occupants veered into a couple of tables and collapsed on the ground. As soon as they had exited, the portal quickly began to shrink until it gave a small "pop" and disappeared from sight.

Qrow and his new companions stared at the newcomers, who were getting to their feet and dusting themselves off. His companions were staring in shock and wonder at the people, unable to speak but clearly wondering where they had come from. Qrow, however, suddenly understood all too well.

"Raven," he muttered quietly as he watched Yang, Weiss, Goku, and Vegeta gather themselves and look around, "Her Semblance."

Yang heard this and turned to see Qrow standing there. She grinned cheekily at him.

"Hey uncle, bet you didn't expect this huh?"

* * *

About an hour earlier, Raven had sat in silent amazement as Goku and Vegeta devoured piles of food without stop. Beside her, Yang was gaping like a fish at the display, never fully exposed to the Saiyan's ferocious appetite, even when Vegeta was living at her place. He was too busy brooding instead. The only person at the table who watched the show calmly was Weiss, fully aware of Goku's tendency and completely unsurprised to see it once more.

In the corner of the tent, Vernal, who was sporting a disgusting face behind the two Saiyan's backs, glanced at Raven and mouthed, "No more right?"

Raven didn't respond immediately. This was the fifth helping of food the two had eaten, with everyone else losing their appetite quite quickly after watching them for a few minutes. They had now been in this tent for almost twenty minutes and not once had they begun sharing information. Raven wanted to get to business, but she was slightly afraid of taking away the Saiyan's supply of food. She already knew what Vegeta could do and she had a sneaking suspicion that while this Goku guy was much friendlier, he was no less strong.

The cook of their tribe suddenly walked in, bowing to Raven before whispering frantically to her, "Chief. We cannot allow them to eat anymore. As it stands, they have eaten through half of our entire stock!"

Raven nodded curtly, dismissing the cook before turning her attention to her guests, gulping down her hesitation.

"My cook has just informed me that you have eaten a good portion of all our food. I would ask that after this course you would quell this insatiable hunger. We have matters to discuss anyway."

Goku, who had been in the middle of eating a moose leg, swallowed a massive chunk of meat and nodded towards Raven.

"Gotcha! This food was really good by the way!" he said, filtering his words through a mouthful of meat.

Beside him, Vegeta grumbled irritably but said nothing and continued to tear through his fried salmon. Raven sighed in relief, making a mental note to herself that she would need to speak to the hunters after this meeting. Their jobs would have to be a bit more grueling for the next few weeks.

Presently, she turned to her daughter and the white-haired teen beside her. They glared back at her, Yang evidently having told Weiss about who Raven was and the sins she had committed.

"So, since your friends are finishing up with their food," Raven gestured to Goku and Vegeta, "I shall begin with the information I have as a sign of good will. Does that suit you Yang?"

She smirked at Yang, Vernal chuckling a little in the corner. The yellow haired bombshell gripped the table angrily but managed to keep herself under control.

"Yes, that would be find mother," she said coolly, staring right into Raven's eyes, "It's about time you tell me something useful."

Raven's mouth twitched slightly but she showed no further reaction. Instead, she simply sighed and began, "As you are quite aware, a few months ago Beacon was attacked by Cinder Fall, the White Fang, and an army of Grimm. They tore mercilessly through the young Huntsmen, such as yourselves, in an effort to find something."

She paused, letting the words sink in. Yang and Weiss had become tense, their eyes unable to hide their grief. Across from them, Goku and Vegeta and finished off the last of their food and were now listening in quietly to the conversation.

"However," Raven continued coldly, "What you don't seem to know is that Cinder Fall is not the one pulling the strings. In fact, she is just one of many servants of the dark witch Salem whose goal is to snuff out any hope from mankind and bring around a new age of darkness."

Yang gripped the table tightly, trying not to cry out in frustration. Weiss just stared down at the floor, her face sad and grief-stricken.

As Vernal brought a tray of tea into the tent and set it down on the table, Goku said, "Hmm, no matter where we go, there's something wrong."

Raven didn't respond to his comment. She simply continued on, "To fulfill her plans, she needs four specific people called Maidens designated to each season. They are used to obtain four separate objects known as Relics which are kept behind seals that correspond to each Maiden."

Vegeta scoffed. "And why does the witch need some silly objects to spread darkness over the land?"

Raven kept her face calm, though inside she felt a pang of anger at the Prince's words.

"Because, legend has it that when these Relics are brought together, they can summon the two gods of Remnant. The God of Light and the God of Darkness."

She glanced at the Saiyans to see their reactions, hoping that this piece of information may unnerve them. To her annoyance, Goku just sat up in excitement, his serious expression suddenly melting away. Meanwhile, Vegeta just snorted derisively and looked away, seemingly bored with the conversation.

On the other hand, Yang and Weiss looked on the verge of tears. Raven wasn't surprised, though she wondered if it was because they knew about some of these legends that their terror was so great.

"As the days go by, Salem is probably planning her next moves carefully, ready to find the next Maiden," here Raven suppressed a gag, hoping the others would not notice, "and convince her to join her cause. She is an unbelievably powerful being, one that trumps the powers of me, my brother, Cinder and even," she looked pointedly at Yang and Weiss here, "Ozpin."

The two young Huntsmen blanched at the name.

"Stronger than… Ozpin?" Yang choked, "How? He's the strongest Huntsmen out there!"

"Was," Raven corrected her, "Though I guess even that isn't entirely accurate. You know very little about Ozpin, don't you? All you know is that he was your dear old principle at Beacon Academy who had incredible powers and who 'died'," she made air quotes, "When the attack occurred."

Yang snarled in anger.

"Oh yeah? Not like you know any more than I do."

Raven smirked, causing Yang and Weiss to stare daggers at her.

"Oh, trust me, I know quite a bit about Ozpin. Things that would turn your insides upside down. Which is why I'm going to offer this piece of advice."

She leaned forward and glared directly into Yang's eyes. "Do not go after Qrow and your half-sister. Do not follow them on their stupid and desperate quest given to them by Ozpin. You have no chance of winning."

Yang glared right back at her, anger radiating off her and causing her eyes to go momentarily red.

"I am not going for any quest mother," she said, every word etched with suppressed fury, "I'm going to see my sister."

"And join her on her quest," Raven calmly finished, "You know you will not be able to bring her home, so you will just blindly follow her. The same goes for your friend," she nodded to Weiss, "You have no idea what you're getting yourselves into."

The table cracked in half as Yang suddenly slammed her fist through it and threw herself at Raven. Weiss cried, "No Yang!" Raven smiled, her hand to the hilt of her sword. But before Yang could launch her attack, a hand grabbed her arm, stopping her cold.

"Now, now we shouldn't be attacking each other," Goku said cheerfully, "Besides, ain't she your mother? That wouldn't be very nice now would it?"

Yang stared at him for a few seconds before wrenching her arm from his grip.

"Yeah, unless your mom leaves you when you're a kid for no reason and decides to lead a bandit tribe," she spat angrily.

Goku raised an eyebrow. "Have you ever asked her about that? I can't simply believe a parent would just do such a thing. Though," he paused for a second, something coming into his head, "Weiss's parents weren't far from that."

Weiss winced and Goku suddenly glanced at her apologetically.

"Ah crap. Sorry Weiss. I know it's a little too soon…"

"It's fine Goku," Weiss said, swallowing hard, "Your point isn't wrong regardless."

Yang looked between the two, wondering just what exactly they were talking about. She was about to ask when Raven said flatly, "I left Yang because I needed to return to my tribe. The Branwen tribe. Even Tai understood this."

Yang scowled at her. She had hoped the answer would make her feel better. Instead, it only fueled her rage.

"That's your reason. That's your-"

"ENOUGH!"

Yang was cut off as Vegeta sprang to his feet and looked around at everyone, his face absolutely livid.

"I don't know how long I have to sit here listening to you morons babbling about family issues. I came here to get more answers about Frieza and maybe learn more about this worthless world I have been stranded on. If I hear any more of this crap about families and mommies not caring for their children, I will wish you a proper reunion in Hell!"

Yang stood up as well, ready to shout back at the Prince but Goku cut her off, his voice serious once more.

"While I don't agree with Vegeta's way of saying it, he's right. We have bigger problems to deal with. Though," he glanced at Yang and his eyes softened, "Afterward, you and your mom should both talk in private. Parents and children should always be at an understanding."

The tent was silent for a few moments. Then Yang and Vegeta sat back down quietly, the former shooting him one last filthy look.

Raven looked at Goku and she said coldly, "Now that we are back on track, it's time you tell me about this Frieza person. I have heard you say his name a couple of times now. What is his importance."

Goku glanced at Vegeta for a second, wondering if he would say anything. But the Saiyan Prince was a bit too angry at the moment to say anything. This left Goku to explain everything. Not his strong suite but he did his best and told Raven about Frieza and his evil plans for conquest. He described his overwhelming power and how he could effortlessly destroy entire planets. As he spoke, Vegeta seemed to somber up slightly as he listened, disturbing memories coming into his head. Meanwhile, Yang and Weiss just sat in silence, all too familiar now with the tales of the psychotic being that is Frieza.

"And now," Goku said, nearing the end of his explanation, "Frieza is here in this world and is ready to commit horrific acts. Already, I have sensed his power fluctuate a few times and his men spilling blood."

Raven, who had stayed very silent over the course of his story, scowled deeply in his direction. She wasn't sure who these people were and if they really came from another world, but she wasn't simply going to believe a grubby spikey haired man about a monster that has the power to destroy planets.

"So, I'm supposed to believe," she drawled, "That you two are from a different world and that along with you came an almighty monster with powers that even the gods probably don't have? Forgive me, Goku," she spat the name out, "But I came here for real information. Not fairy tales and stories."

Instead of getting angry, Goku suddenly looked confused. He pointed at Raven and asked, "But isn't this Salem woman and her Maidens also part of some type of fairy tale?"

Raven reddened out of embarrassment and frustration.

"No, you dolt! Well, the Gods, Maidens and Relics are part of old stories, but the difference is they are actually real and somewhat believable!"  
Weiss suddenly straightened up, her face grim. She let out an unmistakable feeling of suppressed grief and rage. It was so great that it caused everyone to turn to her.

"Frieza is no fairy tale," she said darkly, her eyes locked onto Raven, "I have seen him… in my nightmares… and…"

Weiss trailed off, her thoughts apparently to dark to put into words. Yang stood up beside her and put a comforting arm around her friend, whispering small words of encouragement. Raven just stared at them, silent as she thought about what Weiss said. She could have easily brushed it off as silly nightmares and be done with it. But she also knew better to so quickly dismiss visions in one's sleep.

Vegeta grunted a little. "Hmph, you can choose to believe that Frieza is nothing but a lie. Of course, it will cost you your life."

Goku nodded gravely, looking down as his hands. He opened and closed his fist methodically, something clearly on his mind, though he made no move to share it. At this point, Yang and Weiss had taken their seats once more, the former still comforting the shaking heiress.

Raven looked over at Vernal. She was her trusted advisor and companion and she thought highly of the girl's opinion. So, when she saw the unadulterated terror plastered on Vernals face, she made up her mind.

"Alright, I see that you are all quite serious about this Lord Frieza," Raven said, bringing everyone's attention to her, "But if he is as powerful as you say, what real chance do we stand against him?"

No one replied. Vegeta scowled deeply and looked like he was about to snarl something in return, but whatever he had wanted to say died in his throat and he sat back in silence. Goku's face was stony, a hard contrast to his usual demeanor. Weiss and Yang, however, glanced at their Saiyan friends. Yang raised a quizzical eyebrow at Vegeta.

"Didn't you say that you and Goku may have a chance to beat him?"

Vegeta growled angrily, his scowl darkening even more. Goku spoke for him.

"There is no guarantee. In fact, as things stand now, we are still outclassed by him. We will need some time to train and get stronger before we can face off with him and even have a reasonable shot of winning."

"Well if that's all it takes," Weiss ventured, not daring to sound too hopeful, "We definitely can focus on that. You were showing me amazing ways to train that could make you and maybe even us much stronger!"

Yang grinned smugly, looking at Vegeta for support. "Yeah. Getes has been giving me some training as well and I already feel the difference! If we continued on for a little bit and stay under the radar, we could take Frieza by surprise!"

Raven watched, fascinated as the mood seemed to suddenly shift. Even Goku's stony complexion had been replaced by a thoughtful look as he considered what the girls said.

"You guys maybe right actually. If you two get much stronger, which you can with enough intense training, you can supply some support and we could stand a chance and take down Frieza for-"

"You are all fools."

Vegeta's comment cracked through the air like a whip. The tent fell into silence as everyone looked at him as he glared around at all of them, his eyes darker than ever. Goku scratched his head in confusion.

"What do you mean Vegeta? Judging by the power I am sensing right now, we certainty have a chance with training. Especially if the girls join in and train as hard as they can. I'm not saying it will be easy, but it's better than nothing."

Vegeta just shook his head in disgust.

"You are a naive fool Kakarot. Unlike you, I do know some things about Frieza. And one such thing is the fact this is only a tiny fraction of his full power," he stared down Goku, his eyes flashing, "He can transform. When he does so, his power increases immensely. If we do get strong enough to face his current form, we will be crushed under his next form."

Goku said nothing. He looked back down at his hands, contemplating the many thoughts circulating through his head. Then, to everyone's surprise, he chuckled a little.

"I can't say the challenge doesn't excite me. I mean, I know that what he has done is beyond unforgivable and must be taken down at all costs. But I do love powerful opponents and Frieza is turning out to be one tough customer," he looked up at everyone, his eyes glinting with excitement, "I'm pumped up now!"

They all stared back at him in shock. Even Raven was surprised by the Saiyan's reaction. Not two minutes ago, he was gravely announcing Remnants possible destruction. Now, after hearing that this enemy is even more powerful than previously thought, he looks like a little kid staring at a toy he really wants.

Beside him, Vegeta actually smirked.

"You are true Saiyan Kakarot, whether I like it or not. You have the fighting spirit of our race. I will admit that I am also quite excited to fight Frieza and become far more powerful while doing so. However," his smirk melted off, his scowl returning, "The bastard is responsible for the extinction of our race. Taking this lightly is not an option!"

Goku stared at the Prince, the smile falling off his face. He continued to stare until Vegeta noticed and barked angrily, "What are you staring at you moron?"

"I never knew that he was the one that destroyed our race," Goku said quietly, "I was on Earth ever since I was a baby and it was only a year ago when I learned I was actually a Saiyan."

Vegeta frowned, but for once said nothing scathing in return. Across from Goku, Weiss reached out and patted him on the shoulder smiling sadly. Goku returned the sad smile. Then he shook his head a little and glanced at Vegeta.

"So, what's the plan? How are we going to go about this?"

Yang piped up at this. She explained to Goku her plan about going to her sister Ruby and joining her on the quest she had taken up. At this, Raven coughed loudly, grabbing her daughter's attention.

"I thought you said you had no intention of joining this foolish quest?"

Yang sneered a little. Before this, she had not known what to expect from her mother. Her father had told her few stories about her and had mostly tried to keep Yang away from his ex-wife. However, now Yang was quite sure that she harbored very little affection for her mother. Ever since coming here, the only thing Raven had done with her is antagonize her and make her feel bad for her decisions.

"I changed my mind mother," she said coolly, "Her quest to help and defeat Salem is no easy task, especially after everything you told me. Besides, something along the way could come up that could aid us in our bigger fight against Frieza."

Weiss smiled and put her hand on Yang's shoulder.

"You had me sold after saying you were going to see Ruby. She may be a hopeless goofball at times, but I have really missed her."

She looked at Goku, waiting for his approval. The martial artist pondered it for a second before grinning and nodding.

"I don't see the harm. Means we have more allies. Plus, while Frieza is the main threat, this Salem person is someone that should be taken care of as well."

He said this seriously, though the others saw the glint in his eye that betrayed his over motives. No one commented on it though. Vegeta grunted.

"So now that is all settled, can we leave now? I am becoming quite impatient and all we have done here is exchange information. Hardly a place for a warrior," he glanced at Yang, "How do we reach your sister without flying? You said this woman had the answer to that."

Yang nodded and reluctantly turned to face her mother, realizing that this would be the hard part. Especially since seeing each other, they had been mostly hostile.

Raven glared at her expectantly, waiting for what she knew Yang would ask her to do. She wondered how she should respond to her daughter's request. Frankly, she just wanted to refuse and kick them out of her tribe. However, that option has fallen away with the presence of Goku and Vegeta, especially the latter. But that does not mean she will keel over easily.

"Mother," Yang began, trying to sound as calm and polite as possible, "Dad has told me that your Semblance summons a portal to people of significance such as him and your brother."

"And you," Raven interrupted.

Yang stopped, caught off guard by the sudden comment. She stared at Raven for a second, wondering if she meant what she thought she meant by that. But she brushed it aside quickly. Now was not the time to be sappy. Even so, a small spark of happiness did ignite in the back of her head.

"Uh right. Anyway, I was hoping you would use that to open a portal to Uncle Qrow because he is with Ruby and let me, Getes, Goku, and Weiss go through."

She finished her request, kind of lamely, and looked at her mother, waiting for the response. On either side, her new companions shared her gaze, watching as the bandit Chief closed her eyes, thinking it over.

From behind them, they heard a low snort. They turned to see Vernal sniggering a little and looking down at Yang maliciously. The attitude made Yang smarm.

"You got a problem?" she asked hotly, beginning to rise. Weiss put a hand on her shoulder, signaling her to stay calm, but Yang was fixated on the bandit.

Vernal chuckled a little more at the response. "Oh nothing. It's just cute how you think you can ask a favor of our Chief after the lack of respect you have given her since coming in. It won't matter that you're her daughter, you still need to learn your place."

Yang was about to retort angrily when Vegeta suddenly spoke up, his voice deadly calm.

"I would say the same to you girl. Or have you not learned from earlier?"

Vernal tensed, raising her fingers and touching her neck where Vegeta had almost chocked her. Vegeta smirked at the display of weakness.

"That's enough Vernal," Raven called out, turning everyone's attention back to her, "You are dismissed. Go get some rest."

Vernal looked like she wanted to argue, but then she only bowed and left the tent, not looking back at the others. Once she had left, Raven sighed.

"She is a feisty one. Can't say I don't appreciate that. Reminds me of you Yang."

Yang scowled at the comparison.

"First off, I would thank you not to compare myself with her," she spat out the last word, "And second, I don't think you have enough experience with me to make that judgment in the first place."

Raven only smiled at the back talk. "I know you more than you think Yang."

Yang was about to talk back once more, her nerves jangled after Vernal's comments, but Goku interrupted quickly saying, "Anyway, have you come to a decision?"

Raven scanned the room for a second, pausing for dramatic effect. Then she sighed once more and got to her feet.

"Follow me please."

She led them out of the back end of the tent, opening the tent flap to reveal a small clearing at the back of the tribe. There was no real special significance to the location, only a few torches crackling merrily in a circle around it. Near the edge, Yang's bike stood as if waiting for them to appear. Yang wasted no time going toward it and checking it over for any damage. Then, once she was satisfied, she turned back to Raven who was standing in the middle of the clearing.

"You are sending us to Qrow?" she asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

Raven sighed. "I'm afraid so. I warned you numerous times not to, but you persisted."

Goku stepped forward and, to everyone's surprise, offered a handshake to Raven. She stared at it and then looked up and the kindly face of Goku.

"Thanks for the food and info," he said, "And for agreeing to take us to our destination. You have been a real help."

Raven stared for a few more moments. Then she just snorted and turned away saying to Goku, "Keep your handshakes to yourself Goku. Once you are able to defeat Salem or even Frieza for that matter, then I might consider exchanging a hand with you."

Goku lowered his hand slowly, looking a bit crestfallen, but Weiss patted him on the back soothingly and soon enough got back his positive attitude.

Presently, Raven turned to Yang and Vegeta, both of whom were scowling at her. She smiled at the coldness.

"I must say, it is quite unfortunate that we must part so soon Yang."

Yang snorted derisively. "You survived fifteen years away, I'm sure you can survive some more."

Raven shook her head, still smiling. She then glanced at Vegeta who had turned away, bored with the conversation.

"I entrust that my daughter will be safe alongside you, Vegeta?"

The Prince looked over at her, frowning in response. "I am no babysitter. If she falls behind or dies, it's her fault. Don't come crying to me if that happens."

"Besides," Yang interjected, her face creased with annoyance, "Why do you all of a sudden care about my well-being so much?""

Raven's small smile melted away, and for the first time, Yang saw the face of a mother, fearful for her daughter. It still wasn't a soft and kindly expression, but it was far different from Raven's usual expression.

"There are dangers out there that go beyond your imagination Yang. Going on this quest, you are heading straight for some of the most dangerous people on the planet and I don't just mean Salem and Frieza by the way."

Her face hardened once more, and she put her hand on the hilt of her sword. "But, if that is the path you choose, I will grant you it. Find your sister and complete this foolish quest. However, I must warn you that the next time we meet may not be so amiable."

"It's not like this meeting was peaches and roses," Weiss muttered behind her, but Raven ignored it. With one swift motion, she swiped her sword in a downward slash before her. As if cutting through paper, the blade tore a small round portal in the air, spinning slightly.

The two Huntsmen and Saiyan's approached the portal. Their faces were set and ready, any fear that had been on present before was gone now. And as they jumped through, Raven thought briefly that despite everything, they may be their only hope to defeating the forces of evil that were plaguing Remnant.

* * *

"So, there you have it Uncle Qrow!" Yang said, grinning as the now large group of people walked through the streets of Mistral. She and Qrow were at the front, the latter guiding them to their destination.

Qrow nodded slowly, processing all that Yang had told her. Meanwhile behind them, Bulma and Goku were chatting amiably, introducing each other to their new friends and telling each other's stories. Weiss was in the midst of introducing herself to Oscar and asking him about how he had gotten to where he was now. He was chuckling slightly, though it was clear he was uncomfortable about sharing just exactly who he was.

This left Neo and Vegeta. They weren't talking to each other or anybody else for that matter. Neo was walking a few steps behind, trying not to be noticed by the newcomers, her eyes shifting between Weiss and Yang. As for Vegeta, he was walking alongside the others, however he had his arms crossed and his signature scowl plastered on his face, discouraging conversation with the Saiyan Prince.

Presently, as the group turned down another street, Qrow said to Yang, "I must say, you have come a long way since I last saw you at Patch a few months ago."

Yang grinned smugly. "Have I grown that much?"

Qrow snorted, earning him a scowl from his niece.

"If you mean grown more reckless, than yes definitely. Strength as well it seems. You and your white-haired friend seem more powerful now despite the short amount of time," he glanced behind him at the people following them, focusing specifically on the two Saiyan's. He leaned in slightly towards Yang and whispered, "So you're saying you were with the one with tall spiky black hair and armor?"

"Yep!" Yang responded cheerfully before putting on an exaggerated voice, "He is Vegeta! Prince of all Saiyan's! Or as just like to call him, Getes!"

Vegeta growled in annoyance and for a second, Qrow felt a surge of fear for her niece. Then Vegeta simply grunted and turned away, muttering angrily and the feeling subsided, though it left Qrow visibly shaken.

"I don't think you should do that anymore Yang…," he ventured quietly, his eye still on Vegeta, watching for him to suddenly spring forward and attack Yang for her disrespect. But no such thing happened, and Yang just smirked slightly.

"I think I will be fine, thanks. Besides, me and Getes have been on a few adventures. He wouldn't kill me so easily after them."

Qrow just sighed, beginning to wonder if his niece had actually grown at all. Meanwhile, Weiss was listening to Bulma as she told her about some of her inventions. The silver haired teen was clearly fascinated by what Bulma was telling her and did not hesitate to ask things every once in a while, to clarify something. While Weiss was far from an engineer of any sort, she had spent most of her life in the most technologically advanced city and kingdom on Remnant. All her childhood, she had experienced ground-breaking discoveries and inventions that would forever change the way people on Remnant lived. However, what Bulma was telling her about these things called capsules, small containers that could contain things as small as lunchboxes to entire portable houses was something that even her privileged mind could barely comprehend.

"I just wish I could see some of those capsules," Weiss said wistfully, "Though I presume you have other technology that you work on?"

Bulma beamed and suddenly turned, gesturing towards Neo and throwing the young lady into the spotlight. Weiss let out a throaty gasp, catching the attention of Yang and causing her to look behind her. When Yang saw Neo, she stopped in her tracks, her eyes staring at the woman who she had fought many times in the past. Neo for her part, backed away slightly, trying to say something but not able to control her mouth entirely, causing the scouter on her ear to let out some incoherent words.

"You…," Yang muttered faintly. Then her face tightened, and she stormed forward, pushing Weiss and Bulma behind her and crouching down in a fighting stance.

"What do you think you're doing here?!"

Neo flinched at Yang's question, her usual calm and stern demeanor suddenly crumbling. She had known that she would eventually meet up with the likes of Yang and Weiss once more, though she hadn't been fully prepared for it. However, that would probably have to do with some of the recent events in her life. If she hadn't met Bulma and Oscar and decided to join their side, she would have not hesitated to try and kill the members of Team RWBY in her pursuit of revenge. But now, things were different.

Yang took another step forward and Neo gulped. However, she did not back up anymore. Instead she straightened up and tried to make her face as calm and serious as possible. She pulled it off, though it did not deter the irate yellow head baring down on her.

"Answer my question," Yang gritted through clenched teeth, cocking her gauntlet. Beside her, Weiss unsheathed her sword and pointed it at Neo, her eyes narrowing. Bulma looked shocked and tried to reason with Weiss but was unable to get through.

Watching the whole exchange, Goku looked between the two sides. Then he stepped in between and raised his hands in a calming gesture.

"Now, now, I think we are getting too hasty here Yang."

He offered a kind smile, but she returned it with a snarl.

"Look Goku, you are nice and all but this time, you don't understand the whole picture. That woman worked for one of the most notorious criminals out there. Me and Weiss have fought her before and she is dangerous."

Before Goku could say anything in return, a new voice chimed in.

"While you are mostly right about your description, I advise you to stand down and listen to what has happened recently, Ms. Xiao Long."

Everyone looked in the direction of Oscar, who was now shrouded in a faint green aura. He smiled quietly at them, his different colored eyes scanning over the others.

For a few moments, all was silent. Then Goku spoke up, peering closely at Ozpin.

"Woah. You are different somehow. Like completely different. You know what I mean Vegeta?"

"Your phrasing is awful Kakarot!" Vegeta barked at him, but he turned back to the farm boy and nodded, "But I understand what you're saying. His energy signature changed to another ones. The boy is a different person now."

Ozpin inclined his head to the Saiyans. "Very perceptive, though I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from you two. But I am pretty sure you do not know who I am."

"Ozpin."

He turned to look at Yang and Weiss. They had spoken at the same time, their eyes locked on him and momentarily forgetting about Neo. Their faces were hard to read. It seemed they wanted to be happy and hopeful, but doubt seemed to counteract those feelings. Despite themselves, Raven's warnings played in their heads.

"So, you actually survived?" Yang said quietly, her tone emotionless.

Ozpin hesitated for a second before replying, "It's a bit more complicated than that. I shall explain that in more detail later on. But for now, yes, I am Ozpin, your formal principle."

Weiss raised an eyebrow, eyeing the wise farm boy up and down. Ozpin noticed this and, anticipating a question, raised his hand.

"Like I said, Ms. Schnee, I shall go into more detail later. Right now, allow me to vouch for our friend over there and how I met up with the scientific genius that is Bulma Briefs."

The group stood on the sidewalk, forming a semi-circle around Ozpin as he began to tell the story of how he and Oscar ran into Bulma, their trip to Mistral City and the tavern where Ozpin had said they would find Qrow. He described the meeting with Neo and how they had convinced her that Cinder and Salem were the true culprits of her bosses' death. To secure her trust, Bulma had built her a communication device for her to talk with.

"So, as you can see my friends," Ozpin finished up, gesturing at Neo, "Yesterdays enemies have become todays allies."

Neo stepped forward, her demeanor having returned in full. She even gave Yang a sly smile as she glanced at her, twirling her parasol.

"As Ozpin has so kindly summarized for us," she said, the voice from the scouter startling Yang and Weiss, "We are not enemies anymore. Of course, it's a pity that I don't get to beat you again."

Weiss gripped Yang's arm, expecting her friend to lose it and fly forward. To her surprise, Yang relaxed and straightened up. She stared right at Neo, a smug grin of her own appearing on her face.

"Oh, just because we aren't enemies anymore doesn't mean I can't fight you. I will admit, you beat me fair and square in that train. But I won't let that happen twice."

The two glared at each other, the tension between them so great, sparks seemed to be flying. The others watched silently as the rivalry was formed. The moment only broke when Vegeta grunted loudly and called out angrily, "Can we move already? We look like fools standing out here."

* * *

At the apartment, Team RNJR, Gohan, Krillin and Dende were busy preparing the place for guests. They had been about to sit down together and eat the pancakes that Ren had made when Qrow had messaged them saying that he was coming back with a few guests. Ruby tried to find out who the guests were, but Qrow said to just get ready.

For the past hour, each had done their part in the preparations. Ren had returned to the kitchen and begun to cook more meals, while also making sure that Nora stayed away from the food. With him, Ruby and Krillin had decided to help him, though only Krillin really knew anything about cooking. Ruby was there just to make sure that cookies were made for her.

Meanwhile, Jaune, Gohan and Dende took up the task of setting up the dining table with plates and utensils while also making sure that the surrounding area was crisp and clean. The three of them were phenomenal at their jobs and they all were surprised at one another's skill, asking one another how they were just as perfect as the other.

Jaune claimed that living with seven sisters and always living in a messy house made him take up the art of tiding up and making sure everything was pristine.

Gohan described how his mother had taught him early on to always mind manners and be know how to do simple house work, especially since his father was clueless on the matter.

As for Dende, he simply said that Namekians, while they don't really eat, are all about clean and immaculate environments.

Now, most of the food had been prepared and the dining room looked as if it was brand new. Everyone was in the kitchen, beginning to decide what to carry to the table when Ruby heard the jangling of keys out in the hall.

"That must be them," she said cheerfully. She made to walk out and greet them, but Ren first saddled her with a tray laden with tea.

"Common courtesy," he said calmly before returning to his cooking.

Ruby repeated his words in a mocking voice as she walked out of the kitchen and into the hall where the newcomers had already entered.

"Hey Uncle Qrow! You said we had- "

The sentence died in her throat. The tray fell from her hands and crashed onto the floor, causing the tea pot and cups to shatter and spray glass and tea all over the floor. But Ruby paid not heed to that. She simply stared frozen in shock, her mouth slack. Yang and Weiss looked back at her, their faces a mixture of emotions.

"Ruby is everything-" Gohan began, running out of the kitchen at the sound of the tray crashing to the floor. However, his question faded when he saw who stood beside Yang and Weiss. His father and Vegeta, the former smiling widely at him while the latter just grunted in acknowledgment. Next to them, Bulma waved at him, smiling cheekily.

Oscar and Neo watched from the sidelines, a small smile playing on their lips as they watched the reunion take place.

The room was silent. No one moved as each person examined each other, processing the moment. The silence was finally broken as Ruby sniffled, tears pooling in her eyes. She cried out happily and ran towards Yang's open arms and they shared a tight hug, both of them trying not to cry. Weiss stood to the side, watching the sisters with a warm smile on her face. Suddenly, Ruby broke off for a second and, grabbing Weiss's arm, pulled her into the hug. Weiss was about to complain, but as she stood snuggled with her former team leader, her words fell away, and she joined in happily.

Meanwhile, the rest of Team RNJR, Krillin and Dende had stepped out of the kitchen to see what the commotion was. When they saw Yang and Weiss, Team RNJR exclaimed in delight and ran over and expanding the hug into a massive circle of happily weeping teens.

"Goku!" Krillin ran over to his best friend. Goku, who was currently hugging Gohan, looked up and grinned even wider. The two gave each other a fist bump, Krillin trying to hide the tears streaking down his eyes.

Suddenly, he was hugged from behind as Bulma embraced him jubilantly. He was about to say something when the hug ended as quickly as it started, and the blue haired girl slapped upside the head. As he rubbed the spot, Bulma began yelling at him about leaving her to fend for herself and that he, Gohan and Goku should have been with her. Krillin yelled back at her, defending himself from her accusations, causing Goku and Gohan to burst off into laughter.

What had been a clean and shiny apartment a few moments ago, had devolved into chaos. The floor was splattered with tea and glass and the some of the furniture was getting overturned. However, at the moment, no one cared. They were all too overcome with happiness. Though, not everyone was happy.

As Qrow, Oscar and Neo watched from the side, a snicker broke out next to them. Vegeta was staring at the joyous reunions, his scowl as sharp as ever.

"Not a fan of reunions?" Oscar asked tentatively. Now that he wasn't being piloted by Ozpin, he was a little scared to converse with the likes of the Saiyan Prince. But he tried convincing himself that the guy was on their side and would not hurt them.

Vegeta snorted in response. "It's just meaningless. We have far more important things to do. But no, let us take a few minutes to 'hug it out' and all that," he turned away, closing his eyes, "All of this will lead to slacking off and harmless discussions about each other's lives. We have not time for such things."

Oscar was thinking of something to say in response when Gohan walked over to Vegeta and tapped him on the back. Vegeta turned his head slightly to look back at the boy and his brow furrowed.

"What do you want, brat?"

Gohan smiled up at him, despite the dark look he was receiving. Behind him, the partying had momentarily stopped as everyone watched the two.

"I just wanted to say thank you for helping us on Namek against Frieza and I'm hoping we can do the same here," Gohan said happily, raising his hand for a handshake.

Vegeta turned around fully and stared down at the half-Saiyan before him. The room watched with bated breath, waiting for his reaction. People such as Krillin, Weiss and Bulma looked nervous, expecting Vegeta to do or say something awful. But some, such as Yang and Goku, simply smiled knowingly.

Vegeta stared down at Gohan for a few more seconds, regarding the outstretched hand. Then he made a "Tch" sound and walked past Gohan, ignoring the hand. He walked by everyone else, most of whom were glaring at him, and stopped near the dining table.

"You and I are not friends. We have never been. I still haven't forgotten what happened on Earth when you and your disgrace of a father humiliated me! I only ever aligned myself with you because even I cannot take on the likes of Frieza on my own," he turned to the room at large, ignoring the now scathing looks most were giving him, "Even with your help, the chances of victory against him are near impossible."

"Then why stay?"

Ruby stood, her arm still around Yang and Weiss, but staring directly at Vegeta. The happiness that had filled her moments before had been replaced by a burning anger. Not only had this man she had never met treated Gohan with disrespect, he had brought down the entire mood, reminding everyone of the grim reality they had already been aware of.

Vegeta scowled at the young Huntsmen, his eyes narrowing.

"What did you say, girl?"

Yang tried to intervene between the two, but Ruby resisted, her gaze still fixed on Vegeta.

"Why are you staying with us? If it truly is hopeless and if you don't care about our lives, why fight alongside us?"

Goku stood up suddenly, his smile melting away. He was deadly serious.

"That's enough!" he said sharply, stepping between Ruby and Vegeta, "Fighting amongst ourselves is the last thing we need to be doing."

Jaune frowned at Goku. "Ruby has a point. How can we fight with someone that cares nothing for us and believes this fight is hopeless?"

Goku glanced at Vegeta. The Prince scowled back at him, but just then he saw something in the low-class warrior that he looked down upon so much. Understanding.

"You must forgive Vegeta. He isn't the best with others. But I can assure you right now that Vegeta will fight with us and give it his all. He has a motivation arguably stronger than all ours. And after being a pawn of Frieza's for so long… he knows this maybe his best and only chance to take him on."

The room fell silent. Ruby and Jaune said nothing. They glanced over to Vegeta, seeing his scowl lines increase sharply at first before beginning to soften. Eventually, he just sighed in annoyance and turned away once more.

"You maybe a moron at times Kakarot, but at least you think like a Saiyan. I will fight alongside all of you. However, don't let it get to your head. Most of you are far too weak for me to even care about," he then smirked in a way that made the Huntsmen in the room feel attacked, "After all, if we do fight Frieza, I am your best bet at beating him."

"Is that so Getes?" Yang asked slyly. She was the only Huntsmen not glaring daggers at Vegeta. It seemed her time with him had made her partially resistant to his smug and pretentious comments.

"I thought Goku was about the same level as you. Doesn't that mean he is also our best bet?"

Vegeta snarled angrily as Goku chuckled, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

Vegeta opened his mouth to retort when Gohan stepped forward and called out to the room, "Alright guys. Let's move this to the dining table. We have a lot to talk about and with we keep doing it here, the food will become cold."

At the mention of food, both Goku and Vegeta perked up slightly, the former grinning in excitement, his eyes glinting. The others around them murmured assent and together they moved to the dining table and took their seats, some having to go around the living room and pull over furniture since there was definitely not enough seats. The members of Team RNJR went into the kitchen and began bringing out dishes of food. While they weren't master chef quality food, the smells from them were still able to make the mouths of everyone around the table water.

"I hope you all enjoy," Ren said, placing down a bowl of stew, "I haven't been cooking as much as I used to, so I was worried that some of these may not come out good. While I believe they did, please inform me if anything is wrong.

"This is delicious!" Goku said, already beginning on a bit of stew and a full serving of mashed potatoes. Being too excited to wait, he had begun chowing down as soon as the food had come to the table. As always, his furiously fast consumption of food startled and amazed the people that had never seen it. Beside him, Vegeta had also begun eating just as ferociously. He did not say anything, but he did nod a little towards Ren which was a compliment in of itself.

As the rest of the food was brought out and everyone watched the two Saiyans devour the food, Weiss asked a question she had been wondering since they had sat in Raven's tent.

"I must ask this. Why do you two eat so much and so viciously? Does it have to do with fact that you are both Saiyans?

Goku swallowed a massive spoonful of mashed potatoes, pausing to look think about the question.

"I don't know actually. I have always eaten like this since I was little," he turned to Vegeta, "Do you know?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Since Saiyan's are a powerful warrior species, we need to consume copious amounts of food to sustain our strength and fight at our fullest. It is as simple as that."

"There you have it," Goku said to Weiss, smiling before returning to the important task of shoveling down as much food as possible.

As the evening continued on and everyone began eating, introductions were made all around and stories were exchanged. Neo was introduced as an ally and friend to the likes of Ruby. The two had eyed each other carefully, Ruby fully aware that Neo had definitely wanted her dead at one point for the death of her boss Roman Torchwick. However, after a few moments, Ruby just smiled and offered a handshake and promised that as long Neo doesn't try to kill her, they would avenge Roman by defeating Cinder.

Bulma became a hot topic of discussion as everyone marveled about some of her technological feats, including the device she had made for Neo. Even Vegeta, who rarely spoke throughout the meal, asked if the device was based off the scouter.

"Yes," Bulma answered, "When we defeated Goku's brother on Earth before you guys showed up, I took his scouter and tinkered with it. I spent an entire night working with it and finally was able to change the language to something we could understand. Needless to say, I basically memorized the structural designs of the that thing."

Vegeta actually barked out a laugh. "Hah! I forgot about Raditz! He was such a weakling!"

Krillin frowned at the Prince. "Wasn't he your comrade?"  
Vegeta scowled. "Only because we were both part of the Frieza Force at the time. Sure, he was Saiyan, but he was no more a comrade than Zarbon or Dodoria. And I believe you remember how I dealt with those two."

Krillin gulped a little, nodding.

Two people that seemed to get along well, despite their first interaction, was Goku and Ruby. Gohan had decided to introduce his father to some of the people he had traveled with in the last few days and he thought that Ruby would probably the best person to start with. He was right in his assumption. Goku and Ruby hit it off quickly, discussing cool fighting techniques that they had learned over the years. Goku was especially interested in Ruby's scythe, asking how she fought with it while still be quick on her feet.

Similarly, Krillin and Yang began chatting together about stylish moves and ways to take people by surprise. As a short adult and a young busty girl, they both knew how it felt to be underestimated.

The evening soon became twilight as food quickly began to wind down (Only reason it even lasted more than a few minutes was because everyone demanded that Goku and Vegeta control themselves somewhat) and people began felling the comfortable sensation in their stomachs, signifying that they were full. Once again, Team RNJR got up and began gathering plates, cutlery and glasses and taking them into the kitchen to load into the dish washer. Once sorted, the company decided to move to the spacious living room where they could sit around a small coffee table on couches and armchairs. Ruby brought out a tray of tea, this time careful not to drop it, and set it down on the coffee table. Then she sat down between Yang and Weiss and waited for someone to begin.

For a few moments, an uncomfortable silence filled the air. The silence was only more uncomfortable since they had just been conversing happily and getting to know one another. Now that the time for business had arrived, it seemed harder to start a conversation.

After a few moments of a stifling silence, Oscar sighed and got up from his armchair. The entire room turned to look at him and he felt suddenly very inadequate in his grubby farm clothes. But thankfully for him, he would not be doing much of the talking here.

"So, to get started, I would like to introduce one more person into the conversation. He will be taking over my spot due to his significant understanding of the situation."

Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"Where is this person? And where will you be going?"

Oscar sighed a little. He considered explaining everything to the people who did not know already, but he, and Ozpin inside of him, agreed that it would be simpler if he just switched control.

Oscar closed his eyes and allowed the spirit inside of him to take over once more. Soon enough, his body became shrouded in a faint green aura and his eye color changed. Ozpin stood before the group now, standing tall and proud, holding his cane before him.

"Good evening everyone," he began politely, his voice far different from Oscar's, "Now that we have stuffed ourselves with some of Mr. Ren's delicious food, we should get down to planning."

Team RNJR, Gohan, Krillin and Dende looked at him startled.

"Did that kid just change his voice into an old mans?" Nora asked, trying to suppress a giggle.

"More importantly, why does that voice sound familiar?" Jaune asked, scrutinizing Ozpin.

Ozpin had the nerve to look slightly hurt.

"My dear Ms. Valkyrie, I am hardly an old man. More like ancient. And as for why I sound familiar Mr. Arc well…," he trailed off, smiling at them kindly.

Ruby stood up slowly, looking Ozpin in the eye, realization dawning in her face.

"Professor Ozpin?"

He nodded, spreading his arms.

"Correct Ms. Rose. I am indeed Professor Ozpin."

Ruby looked at him dumbfounded, trying to figure it out. She glanced over at Yang and Weiss, hoping for an answer. They just shrugged at her.

"We know as much as you do sis," Yang said, "He just told us who he was on the way here but said he would explain in more detail about how he got here once we arrived here."

"Indeed, I did," Ozpin said, nodding at Yang, "So to begin, I shall address my appearance here to my former Beacon Academy students to clarify."

He glanced at Goku and his company a little apologetically.

"I understand we have to discuss our plans against the forces of evil, but I must explain myself to them to get rid of any confusion going forward."

Goku waved his hand dismissively, grinning cheerfully.

"I got no problem with that."

Beside him, Gohan, Krillin, Bulma and Dende murmured assent. Vegeta grumbled a little but did not speak up directly.

"Thank you for your patience," Ozpin inclinded his head towards them before turning back to the Huntsmen, "Now let us begin with how I am here."

All the Huntsmen, apart from Qrow who knew everything about this topic, nodded in agreement.

Ozpin explains that centuries ago, he had been but a common man, researching and becoming a learned scholar back in the day. However, he was one day cursed by a witch who held a grudge against him for out doing her in everything. She cast upon a dark and unbreakable spell that caused Ozpin to go through never ending torture. At first, nothing happened, and Ozpin lived out the rest of his days in peace. However, once he died, his spirit never left the world. It transferred into another body and Ozpin was forced to begin living out the lives of others, sometimes gaining full control and other times being completely shut out. Sometimes, his new life was enjoyable. Other times, it was dark and miserable. Eventually, as the years would go on, he would learn more about the Relics and the Maidens and in extension Salem. Once he heard of the evil, she may bring upon the world of Remnant, he dedicated his life to stopping her. Unfortunately, he was bested at the battle of Beacon and was transferred to the body of Oscar who has readily taken the task of helping him.

"And now here I stand once more," he finished, gesturing to himself, "I understand this maybe a little bit hard to process but in due time I believe it will become natural."

The young Huntsmen nodded dumbly, unsure of how to respond. Ozpin took their silence as an answer.

"Now then, let us discuss plans to defeat-"

"Not yet."

A sharp stern voice cracked through the room. It was neither loud nor strange, but it was said with such force that everyone in the room instantly turned to the speaker. It was Goku. He was still sitting on the couch, his eyes resting on Ozpin. His cheerful air had vanished, replaced by a serious atmosphere with a small hint of warning in it.

"Is something the matter, Mr. Goku?" Ozpin asked, calmly and politely as ever.

"First off, just Goku is fine. Second," here Goku's face tightened slightly, "Why not tell us the truth?"

Confusion stirred around the room. No one other than Goku had suspected Ozpin of lying. Most shocked of all was Qrow, who had heard this version many times and believed it to be true.

"Look buddy," Qrow Branwen drawled, his voice slightly slurred from the alcohol he had drank earlier, "I get that you're powerful and all, but that doesn't mean you can go calling people liars with no proof."

Goku glanced at Qrow, his expression not faltering.

"What you may not know Qrow is that I have a certain ability up my sleeve. I don't like using it as I think it's kinds creepy, but every once in a while, I use it to learn about things that happened."

Weiss suddenly gasped. Her friends turned to her quickly, faces full of confusion. Weiss didn't say anything at first. Then she composed herself and looked around at her friends.

"Goku can read minds. I know this to be true. He did it with me when we first met."

Silence once more took over as everyone took in what she said. Even the fighters from another world were beginning to consider what she said. Then, all at the same time, eyes fell upon Ozpin.

The once calm and composed figure of Oscar was now sweating and shaking uncontrollably. His eyes were wide and staring while his hands fidgeted nervously. In the span of a few seconds, he had transformed from a sophisticated wise boy to a little boy that was scared of being punished by his parents.

"Now everyone," he stuttered, trying to regain composure, "I'm sure that this is just a misunderstanding."

Goku stood up. His face was stony as he looked down at Ozpin.

"Look Ozpin, I know what the true story is. I can simply tell everyone. But, honestly, I don't think I should be the one to do so. I think you can do it. I think most of us will understand."

He did not smile encouragingly, though his eyes softened. Ozpin shook a bit more, trying to think of another way out. Then all of a sudden, he stopped shaking and let out a long deep breath.

"I guess there is no point in hiding it anymore is there? A secret I have kept locked away for centuries," he looked towards Goku, his face neither angry nor pleading. Only saddened.

"But you are right Goku. We are fighting together against the same enemy. We shouldn't keep secrets from one another. Even if those secrets… may pain us."

He sighed one more time before turning to the entire room at large and beginning his tale.

* * *

It all begins with a brave and noble knight centuries ago, riding to a castle where rumor had it a princess lay imprisoned. He fought through many creatures to reach the top of the tower where he found a beautiful woman waiting for him. He led her away and together they escaped the castle safely. Only then did he learn her name. Salem.

However, he did not just learn about her name. He learned, as they walked away from the castle and talked, that he was falling deeply and truly in love with her beauty and her spirit. At the same time, Salem had also fallen for him hard as well and together they decided to live out the rest of their days with one another. Unfortunately, fate would not allow them to. He would soon pass away from a disease and leave a grief-stricken Salem behind.

Desperate to reunite with her loved one, Salem went to the alter of the God of Light where the God himself resided him. There, she begged him to revive her loved one back. However, the God refused, claiming it to be against the laws of nature to do so and unfair that she should be able to have her wishes granted while so many others would not. Frustrated and angry, Salem left and sought out council with the second God residing in Remnant at the time. The God of Light's younger brother, the God of Darkness. When she asked him to revive her beloved, the God of Darkness obliged. However, his brother did not take kindly to that and told him that this mortal girl had already come to him with the same question. With both Gods now angry, the revived knight was once again taken away from her and as she pleaded, the gods cast upon her a curse. They granted her immortality, so she would never be able to die and reunite with her beloved in the afterlife.

Salem tried many things to kill herself. From stabbing herself to hanging herself, she caused herself much pain. However, she would not die. Yet, this gave her an idea. Using her immortality as a way to impress the kingdoms of Remnant, she gathered them and convinced them to march against the Gods, claiming they were corrupt and evil. The people, seeing her immortality and power, rallied around her and the people of Remnant stormed the domains of the Gods. However, the Gods were far from amused with this show. They exterminated nearly the entire population of Remnant in one swift blow before deciding to leave this world for good, leaving Salem to suffer on her own.

Salem, alone and powerless to do anything, tried to find another way. The only thing she could think of was to try and drown herself in the lake of Darkness, a place where the God of Darkness himself had been born and created horrific creatures. When she tried it, the immortality held, but she was imbued with the power of hate and pure evil.

Meanwhile, Ozma, the first incarnation of current day Ozpin, receives a visit from the God of Light in the afterlife. He is informed that his past lover, Salem, is wreaking havoc upon Remnant. The Gods than offer Ozma the option to return and attempt to bring around peace. The God then presents him with four items. A crown, a lamp, a staff, and a sword. He tells Ozma that once the world has become a desirable place once more, he can summon the Gods back by gathering these items, the Relic's, together. Yet, if they come and do not find the world to their liking, they will destroy it from existence.

Ozma accepts the offer and returns to the living, wondering how to make peace. However, it isn't long until he runs into Salem. The two, despite looking far different then they remembered, instantly recognize one another. They finally reunite and for a while, all was good. They eventually use their superior powers to take over Remnant and rule over the people and while doing so, create a family.

Unfortunately, all good times come to an end. Ozma is soon reminded of his mission to get rid of Salem and restore peace and balance to the world. He tries to talk to her, but she does not listen. It all spirals out of control and the two have a climactic showdown where the immortal Salem comes on top. But this was not the end for Ozma. The God of Light, seeing his quest maybe difficult, gave him the power to reincarnate after every death until his had fulfilled his task. And so, for the next following centuries, Ozma did just that, trying and failing to stop Salem. Along the way, he used some of the last of his godly magic to create the four-season Maidens to go around the world and bring around peace. They did so, though they were always counteracted by the dark forces of Salem.

Finally, Ozma, who had done much to go against his former lover and wife, was able locate one of the Relic's created by the God of Light. It was the Relic of Knowledge which contained a spirit that could answer any question three times each century. Ozma had only one question for it.

"How can I defeat Salem?"

The spirit did not hesitate to answer.

"You can't."

* * *

Ozpin finished his tale. He sat back into an armchair and hung his head. Around him, his companions did not say anything. There was nothing to say. The only thing to do was feel the wash of cold despair and hopelessness shower over them.

After a time that seemed like days, a person finally stirred. With a few quick strides to the him, Qrow slammed his fist into Ozpin. The farm boy was lifted of his seat and sent into a nearby side table.

"How much did I sacrifice for you?" Qrow asked menacingly, "How much did I do for you in the belief we could have a brighter future!"

Ozpin clambered to his feet, wincing slightly as pain shot through him. Being completely unprepared, he had not used his aura to block the punch and had taken the full impact himself.

"Qrow… I… I…," he stuttered, but nothing came out. He couldn't say anything to defend himself. He had nothing to offer.

Qrow advanced once more but a hand stopped him. He whirled around, so angry that he was ready to attack the person stopping him. When he saw it was Goku, he willed himself not to attack. But his anger did not fade.

"Get out of my way Goku," he snarled, "I'm gonna give this bastard a piece of my mind."

Goku shook his head sadly. He glanced over the room, seeing the distraught and hopeless expressions on everyone's faces. The only ones who were somewhat calm about the situation were the people who had come with him from Namek. However, that maybe just because they were used to these types of hopeless situations.

As he glanced around, Goku wondered for a split-second if forcing Ozpin to tell the truth was a good idea. He had expected a bit more understanding and even determination to defeat Salem despite being told they couldn't. However, he realized far too late, only his mind thought about stuff like that.

"So, there is really no point to all this?" Jaune said, looking down at his shaking hands, "No matter what we do, we can't stop Salem?"

"Or Frieza for that matter," Weiss added solemnly, "Would be a shame if we forgot about him."

The young Huntsmen lapsed into silence, all of them wondering the same thing. It was a truly depressing site that made even Qrow quiet down and simply stare dejectedly at the floor.

A horrible silence fell upon the room. No one spoke. No one moved. All they did was contemplate their demise. That is, until Vegeta stood up and punched the coffee table into splinters, catching the attention of everyone.

"Listen up you sorry excuses for fighters," he growled, his voice etched with anger, "Do you lose faith that quickly? Do you lose your spirit so easily? DISGUSTING!" he roared the words, injecting them into each Huntsmen, "You were just parading about how you will fight for each other and fight the likes of Lord Frieza despite having no chance of even touching him! AND NOW YOU ALL COWER IN FEAR BECAUSE SOME WITCH IS IMMORTAL! I WILL NOT TOLERATE SUCH DISGRACEFUL BEHAVIOR. IF YOU CALL YOURSELF FIGHTERS THAN YOU WILL FIGHT EVEN IF IT MEANS DEATH!"

His words washed over them all, dispelling the depressed air around them. The young Huntsmen stared at him in shock and anger.

Yang was the first to jump up and yell, "WHO SAID I WAS GIVING UP?!"

Next was Nora. "DON'T CALL ME A COWARD! I WILL BREAK YOUR LEGS!

Then Ren. "While I know the task is hard, that does not mean I was considering backing down."

Jaune. "I WILL FIGHT TO THE END. I WILL FOR… FOR PYRRHA!"

Weiss. "AFTER ALL I HAVE BEEN THROUGH, I AM FAR FROM GIVING UP!"

Finally, Ruby stood up. She walked right up to Vegeta and stood in front of him. They stared at each other for a few seconds. Ruby did not say anything, but her silver eyes burned with a fire of determination and rage.

Vegeta stared at her. Then he closed his own eyes and smirked.

"That's more like it," he said, "At least you lot are not completely boneless."

Goku nodded, looking around at the newly vitalized group. Vegeta's speech had seemed to not just raise the spirits of the Huntsmen but of everyone else as well. Gohan, Krillin and Dende were standing by, determinedly. Bulma and Neo sat in their respective chairs still, but their eyes were alert and ready.

The only one that didn't seem too convinced was Qrow. He snatched his arm away from Goku and sat into a chair, still glaring venomously at Ozpin who had now walked back towards the group. His expression was nothing but apologetic.

"I am so sorry for bringing this-"

"Shut it old man!" Vegeta snapped, "We don't care about all that crap anymore."

Qrow looked like he wanted to say something, but Vegeta silenced him with a withering look. Goku took up the reigns.

"Vegeta is right. What happened in the past happened. We cannot change that. And I now understand why you wanted to keep it secret. That part is on me if anything. But now the best we can do is plan a strategy to defeat Salem. That spirit of knowledge may have said we can't, but I don't think she took in account that you guys now have the help of us and not to toot our horn too much, but us are pretty good."

Gohan and Krillin nodded in agreement.

"So, Ozpin," Goku continued, "You have told us the truth. Now, use what you know to help us in our mission."

Ozpin stood for a few minutes, still and unmoving. He looked around and instead of seeing angry and depressed faces, he was met with the faces of men and women who were ready to fight. Well, all apart from Qrow who had seemed to have devolved entirely into a grumpy drunken man.

Ozpin then suddenly heard a voice inside of his head.

"They are right. All of them."

It was Oscar. He was talking inside of his mind and his voice was just as determined as the faces around Ozpin.

Ozpin breathed in deeply and then out. Then he nodded and clenched his fists.

"I will do what I can to plan out a sound strategy to stop Salem from achieving her goals. We came here to try and get the help of Principle Lionheart of Haven Academy. He knows about the situation and he should be willing to help us. But mark my words, I will make sure that this does not all fall in vain."

The young Huntsmen gave a cry of assent, with Bulma, Neo, Gohan, Krillin and even Dende joining in.

Ozpin was sitting down, ready to brainstorm, when suddenly he collapsed entirely. Goku caught him before he hit the floor.

"You alright there?"

"Yeah," Ozpin replied, coughing slightly, "I have just used too much energy taking control of Oscar's body. Since he hasn't given me full control, I can't take over indefinitely. I will need time to rest and he will as well. I am sorry, I won't be able to plan right now."

He coughed again, looking around at the faces looking down at him. He expected anger to return once more. Instead, they all just smiled and nodded. He felt a hand grip his and he saw Ruby smiling comfortingly at him.

"Rest for now. We will start tomorrow. We should all get some sleep."

Ozpin nodded, smiling gratefully. Then his eyelid closed shut and Oscar's body lay limp in Goku's arms.

"I will take him upstairs to a room," Goku said, "Ruby's right, we should all grab some sleep. Especially since tomorrow is going to be a big day."

That caught everyone's attention.

"What do you mean by that?" Neo asked, her scouter giving her an appropriate puzzled voice. Goku chortled in response.

"Training of course! With the threat of Salem, let alone Frieza, we need to get you guys to become far more powerful than you are right now. All day tomorrow, me and my buddies are going to make sure you get stronger within just a few sessions."

The Huntsmen murmured in assent and agreed. Then they began to head upstairs, discussing which rooms to take and who should share with who. Jaune opted to take Oscar off of Goku and the Saiyan relented. He needed to talk to someone.

Before all the Huntsmen left, Weiss suddenly turned and asked, "Hey Goku. Can you tell us something honestly?"

Goku nodded and Weiss asked, "Despite what we have heard about Salem being 'undefeatable', is she still less of a threat than Frieza?"

The others stopped climbing the stairs, turning to see Goku's and the others response. It came much quicker than they expected.

"Honestly, Salem maybe immortal, but that's about it. She has some power as far as we can sense, but its hardly threatening to us at least. Frieza however…," Goku paused and Gohan took over for his father.

"Frieza was looking for immortality on Namek. While he didn't get his wish, he really doesn't need it. He already feels un-killable."

He let that hang a for few moments. Then he said quickly, "But it doesn't mean he is invincible. We should still-"

"Don't worry Gohan," Jaune said, chuckling a little at the flustered boy, "I don't think any of us are giving up anytime soon thanks to your 'friend'."

He glanced over at Vegeta who just grunted in response. Afterward, the Huntsmen left upstairs to their rooms. Bulma and Neo soon followed, though Bulma stopped to ask Goku if he was alright.

"Yeah, I'm good Bulma. What's up?"

Bulma sighed, looking at her old-time friend.

"Well beside the fact that we are all probably going to die, I'm worried about you," she lowered her voice, so the others couldn't hear, "You are our best fighter after all."

Goku grinned at her, filling her heart with hope.

"Trust me Bulma, there is nothing to worry about. Besides, I can't wait for the challenge!"

Bulma giggled a little. "That's the Goku I know alright."

She and Neo wished him and the others goodnight and headed upstairs. Behind them, Qrow followed, not saying a word to anyone, his face still stricken with grief and rage.

"Well," Gohan yawned, "If we are going to be training, better get some goodnight's sleep."

Krillin nodded in agreement, glancing over at Goku.

"You guys go on ahead," he said, looking at Vegeta, "I want to talk to Vegeta for a moment."

They nodded and together, with Dende, they walked upstairs, leaving the two pure blooded Saiyan's alone in the living room.

For a few tense moments, neither said anything. Both them suddenly remembered their fight on Earth. It had been a fight to the death, the fate of the planet at stake. Goku had only prevailed when his friends had come back for him. Vegeta had sworn vengeance upon them before escaping in his space pod. Now, he was fighting alongside them.

"Alright Kakarot," Vegeta growled, breaking the silence, "Get on with it. What did you want to say?"

Goku said nothing for a second. Then he smiled genuinely at the Prince.

"I wanted to thank you Vegeta. You really helped us out back there."

"What do you mean?" Vegeta asked, beginning to sound bored.

"I thought making Ozpin tell the truth would have a different effect on the kids. Instead, they got scared, which honestly, is understandable. They aren't you and me. They don't relish every challenge that comes their way. I thought I had messed up big time and lost the support of everyone. Then you came gave them each a small piece of your pride to boost them back up. Only you could have done that."

Vegeta snorted derisively.

"That's all? Hmph, you are as dumb as you look Kakarot."

Goku turned to go upstairs. His foot was on the bottom stair when Vegeta spoke once more from behind him.

"Those brats have potential Kakarot. If they train hard, they can unleash massive amounts power. All they need is the spirit to do so."

Goku stopped.

"And do they Vegeta?"

A pause. Then,

"Yes."

* * *

"Alright everybody! Hold on tight!

Ilia yelled at the group from the control deck. She pushed forward the throttle steadily, making sure the boat moved slowly. It followed her careful adjustments and gently approached the shoreline. Suddenly, the boat lurched forward, throwing the occupants forward.

"Sorry!" Ilia called down, "That must be the bottom. This is as close as we are getting to shore."

The group had completed their journey across the sea between the isle of Menagerie and the continent of Anima. It had been a much shorter ride then they had expected, only taking them about twenty hours to complete. No one was complaining though. It had been a very dull twenty hours with the only excitement being Sun trying to fish for five hours straight and only catching two fish, one by foul hooking.

On approaching Anima, the group tried to search for some docks to park at. However, they weren't able to and Ilia warned that they were running out of fuel. So, they decided to simply beach the boat and jump onto land.

Now they stood, successfully beached, ready to disembark. Everyone was ready… everyone except Blake. She was slightly pale as she glanced at the nearly 30 feet of water between the boat and shore.

"Um, are you sure we can't get any closer Ilia?"

Ilia jumped down from the command deck, shaking her head.

"No not really. I could technically scoot a few more inches, but it will grind horribly against the sand."

Blake sighed. Sun noticed and asked, "Blake, are you scared of swimming?"

Blake jumped back, raising her hands frantically.

"What? No! Totally not! I'm just… just…"

Ilia raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Blake. I grew up with you."

Blake stopped stuttering and sighed in resignation. Sun stared at her in shock.

"You're scared of water? But you never said of anything while we were on the boat. I mean, if you were Neptune, I would have had to knock him out to drag him onboard."

"It isn't as bad as Neptune's fear," Blake said, remembering Sun's old teammate who was deadly afraid of anything related to water, "I can sail over it comfortably, though it did take me some time to get used to it. But I can't stand swimming in it."

From above on the roof of the cabin cruiser, Piccolo grunted.

"Is it because you have the features of a cat?

The three faunus looked up at him startled. Blake look genuinely impressed. Piccolo smirked at their expressions.

"It's not that difficult to figure out. I just assumed the physical animal traits you have aren't the only things you took away from the animals your based off of."

Blake nodded before once again staring over the small stretch of water between them and shore. She was just thinking about searching the boat for any life jackets or even an inflatable raft when she was suddenly swept of her feet by Sun.

"What are you doing!?" she shrieked, struggling to escape.

The monkey faunus just smiled cheekily down at her.

"I'm gonna jump over with you. That way you won't touch the water," he looked back at Ilia, "Do you want me to come back and do the same for you."

Ilia smirked.

"No need mister stud. I got another ride," she gestured to Piccolo who simply nodded, looking slightly impatient.

"Let's just get moving already," he said, "I want to get to Gohan as quickly as possible."

The others nodded, and Sun crouched down low, calculating his jump. Blake, however, was still quite unsure about his plan.

"It's a jump of more than 30 feet Sun. Plus you're carrying me."

Sun flashed her a grin. "It's like Piccolo said, I have characteristics of my animal besides my tail. And monkeys are famous for their jumping. Besides," he looked away, chuckling slightly, "You're not that heavy."

His giggling was cut off by a sharp slap by Blake. She was red faced from both anger and embarrassment.

"Ow!" Sun said, rubbing his cheek with his tail, "What was that for?"  
"You don't talk about a girl's weight," Ilia said, climbing onto Piccolo's back, "Always a sensitive subject."

Sun thought for a second before realization dawning on his face.

"Oh, I see. Sorry about that Blake."

Blake just huffed indignantly, closing her eyes.

"Just jump us over already."

Sun nodded and once more crouched down. Then, using all his leg muscles, he launched himself from the boat and flew in a long parabolic arc over the water. Despite herself, Blake opened her eyes and looked down to see the water below her rushing by them and soon enough being replaced by a sandy beach.

Sun landed on the beach gently despite the power of his jump and let go of Blake. He was smiling the whole time as she got her bearing once more. Then she glanced at him, unable to hide her impressed expression.

"Alright, I will admit. That was pretty awesome."

Sun waggled his finger at her. "Told you I could do it. Now where's Piccolo and-,"

Suddenly, the boat behind him let out a loud CRACK. They whirled around and saw the boat broken down the middle, water already rushing in and bringing it down. However, since the water was so shallow, the boat didn't sink much more than a few feet before simply keeling over to the side.

As the boat sank, a quick moving object darted from the boat and within a second landed next to Sun and Blake on the sand, barely disturbing it.

Piccolo straightened, holding a terrified Ilia. He was completely calm. Sun and Blake stared at him, mouths agape.

"Did you…," Sun started, trying to complete a question. When he was unable to finish, Blake did it for him.

"Did you just break the boat with the force of your jump?"

Piccolo let Ilia down on the ground and began walking inland towards the woods lining the shoreline, not even glancing back at the destroyed cabin cruiser. He said nonchalantly, "I guess I did. Doesn't matter. We weren't going to use the boat anymore."

The faunus exchanged looks. They silently agreed that considering everything that Piccolo has done since they had met him, this was far from the strangest or most impressive feat he has displayed. They followed behind him for a few minutes until realizing he was just walking through the woods without following a certain path.

"Hey Piccolo," Sun asked, "Do you know where you are going exactly?"

Piccolo didn't turn around when he responded. "I have a much better idea than any of you. I'm following Gohan's energy signal."

"That maybe so," Blake said tentatively, "But it doesn't help navigate our way accurately through the continent. What if we run into an impassable area of some sort?"

"Then we go around it," Piccolo said flatly.

Blake sighed, realizing that this discussion was going nowhere. So, she walked silently along with the group.

Unfortunately, the silence permitted Blake's mind to take over and show images that she did not want to see. Corpses littering the ground. Her parents cold and still on the floor. Blood splattered over the walls. And the screams of the suffering.

Blake tried to push them all away, looking around her for something to distract her. However, the woods around them, though beautiful in their own right with strong clean tree trunks and smooth grass carpeting the ground, was too mundane to capture her attention.

The images pressed their advantage, pushing in on her. They tormented her, reminding her of the past. They made her feel hopeless. Blake wanted to hide and whimper, get away from everyone and just do nothing.

Then, as it became unbearable, Blake remembered what Piccolo had told her on the docks of Menagerie.

"You can use these visions as a motivation to become stronger, fight against the evil and gain revenge."

She tightened her fists. She repeated what he said to herself, using it as a weapon against the images. They kept on pressing on her, but they seemed less powerful than before. She tried to get rid of them entirely, but they stayed, weakened but still strong enough to keep plaguing her. If she wanted to get rid of them completely…

"I need to fight and bring justice," she said quietly to herself.

"You say something?" Sun asked, glancing at her curiously.

Blake shook her head. In front of her, Piccolo glanced back a little. He looked at her carefully, reading her expression. Then he smiled.

"Taking my advice?"

Blake nodded.

"I believe you are right about these images being a motivation."

Piccolo nodded. Sun and Ilia however looked confused, staring between the cat faunus and Namekian.

"I feel like we are missing something important here," Ilia said.

Blake actually smiled a little. "Not really. Just getting my objectives straight. And Piccolo is going to help me – no – us in achieving them."

She glanced over at Sun and Ilia, smiling a little wider. They stared back at her for a few seconds, a little confused. Then they realized what she meant and nodded in agreement.

"We will do whatever it takes to help," Sun said with Ilia nodding beside him.

"I know," Blake said. She turned to Piccolo and offered him her hand.

"Piccolo. I would be honored if you would train me and my friends to become strong enough to stand up to Frieza and his army. We will not let him get away with what he did to Menagerie."

For a few moments, they stood there, the determined young faunus looking up at the tall powerful Namekian. A small breeze blew through woods, rustling the branches, the grass and causing Piccolo's cape to billow out.

Then, Piccolo raised his hand and grasped Blake's tightly. He smiled down at them, his harsh features fading slightly.

"I would be happy to. We will start tonight when we stop to make camp. I hope you're ready though, I won't go easy on you," he chuckled a little and looked out in the direction they were heading, "Gohan will vouch for that."

* * *

In the kingdom of Vale, the former White Fang base was undergoing some serious changes. The courtyards were full to the brim with soldiers equipping themselves with new high-tech gear from storerooms of the Atlas army. Meanwhile, builders and contractors were brought in to renovate the base and fix any damages that had occurred in the past few days. The sound of all this activity could be heard for miles around. However, no one came to complain. No one who valued their life would.

On the battlements of the rebranded Frieza Force base, Lord Frieza stood, sipping his wine as he surveyed his soldiers below in the courtyards. A small cruel smile played on his lips as he watched. Despite everything that had happened to him recently, being denied immortality and sent to an unknown world, he was feeling positively euphoric at the moment. He had taken control as easily as could be expected, found an army that was now equipping themselves with technology that would boost their power by almost tenfold. The only thing that could improve the situation is if the brats that had come with him were dead. But that would come all too soon. It was but a matter of time.

Beside the tyrant, Adam Taurus stood, surveying his old White Fang soldiers, now Frieza Soldiers, equip themselves for a cause they had never signed on for. He thought about the many fuanus who he had rallied to his cause. How they had all been willing to do anything to fight for the equality and freedom that the faunus deserved. All for it to be crushed under the foot of Frieza. Unfortunately for Adam, there was very little he could actually do to try and bring back the White Fang to its former self.

"Isn't it just wonderful?" Frieza asked, snapping Adam out of his thoughts. He looked towards his new master who gestured around at the men below.

"Nothing is better than seeing a plan coming together seamlessly," Frieza continued, "As a galaxy wide ruler myself, those do not happen too often. There always seems to be something in the way. However, here I have had nothing but success. Of course, that could do with the fact that everyone in this world is just so pathetically weak."

The evil lord chortled darkly to himself. Adam did not respond. He did not know exactly how to.

Frieza glanced at him and his eyes narrowed.

"Nothing to say boy?" he said coldly, "Are you perhaps lamenting your former cause?"

Adam started in surprise. Frieza chuckled at the response and turned away once more.

"I am no fool boy. I am well aware that this organization was mainly under your control at one point and you undoubtedly had plans of your own. It is partially the reason I kept you alive as a general."

Adam bent to one knee, his nerves shaking as Frieza spoke.

"I am still ever grateful for being awarded such a prestigious title."

Frieza sipped his wine. His face took on a cruel look and as he glanced down at Adam, and the bull faunus had to use all his will power to resist the temptation to flee.

"However, that does not mean I cannot take it away from you. You better know who you are loyal to know and where your place is. Of course, if you don't, I will simply have to remind you," Frieza drained the rest of his glass and placed it on the battlements, "Permanently."

Adam shuddered. He could not help that much. His blood ran ice cold as Frieza's overwhelming power washed over him and kept him in line. The mighty Adam Faunus, once liberator of the faunus was nothing more than a weak and defenseless minion.

"Y-yes… My lord," he responded, stuttering slightly, "I-I am forever in your service."

Frieza did not respond to that. He simply continued to watch as the Frieza Soldiers equipped themselves and tested out some of their shiny new weapons.

Adam looked up to see Frieza look down and it suddenly hit him just how comfortable this person was in his current position. Many people who want to dominate and take over actually have trouble keeping their stress in check while doing so. And if those people do succeed, their rule is full of problems that they need to solve. People like that can lose their minds within a few years, sometimes even less.

However, Frieza's demeanor, expression and the manner in which he held himself at that very moment showed Adam that he had no such concerns about ruling. He was born for this job.

Seeing all this, Adam recalled something Frieza said earlier and decided, though he realized that it was very risky, to ask his master a question.

"If I may, my lord, you mentioned being the emperor of an entire galaxay. How did you come by to doing so?"

Frieza turned back to him and for a second, Adam was sure his gamble was about to turn out very poorly for him. Then, the tyrant simple curled his lip into a sneer.

"An interesting question indeed general," he said in a low voice, "I suppose as I watch my men suit up, I could enlighten you a little bit about my past."

"I would be honored, my lord!" Adam cried out, slightly hysterical. The amount of times he felt on the brink of deaths door was beginning to affect him mentally.

Frieza cleared his throat, looked down at his army below and began.

"Many, many years ago, I was born into my grand family. Even then, we were already at the top of the Universes pecking order. From birth alone, we possessed incredible raw talent and power. At the time, my father, King Cold, was the main ruler of the galaxy."

Frieza paused for a second and Adam took the time to process just what type of father this psychotic maniac had.

"Once I become of age, I began to travel around the galaxy alongside my father, seeing all the worlds under our rule. He taught me everything I needed to know. From learning how to commit mass genocide to effectively torturing people for information to knowing when to be diplomatic or when to simply use force. One lesson I will always remember, though I doubt it will ever come to play is when he actually told me to stay from two people in the galaxy. I shall not delve into them since you have idea who they are and the power they possess."

Adam shook violently as Frieza talked. Apart from thinking about a father who had encouraged his son to rule with fear and destruction, he could not fathom that there was anyone in the universe that Frieza was forced to stay away from.

Frieza began talking once more and Adam put those minds a way, listening intently.

"You see, my father saw incredible potential in me. He saw that even at a young age, I was going to surpass him. So much so that he left me the galaxy to rule over before I was even an adult. A feat never done before done by my family before. Since then, I have been ruling with an iron fist, allowing some planets to live out the rest of their days under my rule or watch as they try to rebel," his smile twisted up in a cruel smile as something came to his mind," And be entirely obliterated."

"Just like Beacon…," Adam murmured before he could stop himself. Frieza turned to look at him.

"Did you say something?" he snapped impatiently, "I have no time for your nonsense. Just be thankful I gave you a short tale about my past. Now leave!"

Frieza barked out the last order in a cold commanding tone and the bull faunus wasted no time as he ran back inside the base, not wanting to antagonize the planet busting maniac.

Frieza watched run, smirking all the while.

"Weak," he whispered to himself, "Too weak. He is beginning to become less and less necessary for me. I will dispatch of him soon enough."

He turned back to survey the courtyard, ready to silently enjoy his wine when another voice behind him called out.

"Lord Frieza!"

Frieza looked back to see Captain Ginyu running towards him, his new body sporting a wide and excited grin. Every step he took was filled with jubilant pleasure as bounded to his master.

"Ah Captain Ginyu," Frieza said, smiling at his henchmen's return, "I assume everything went off without a hitch.

Ginyu did a flashy pose, nodding vigorously.

"We gave the army and people of Atlas the ultimatum and they accepted of course. They are effectively under your will. They will continue to supply us with weapons and armor."

"Excellent," Frieza grinned maliciously, "Very good Captain."

"I live to serve Lord Frieza!" Ginyu replied simply, adding in another pose for extra effect, "What is my next mission?"

Frieza pondered this question thoughtfully for a few moments. Truthfully, they could simply begin raiding and taking over every settlement nearby and begin branching outward across the world. However, Frieza still had the task of finding the meddlesome filth that had come with him to this world.

"For now, you stay and oversee preparations, make sure nothing goes wrong. Once completed, I will need you and the boy to go out and search for the scum. I believe you understand who I am referring to?

Ginyu nodded, his face creasing slightly with anger.

"It's about time I got revenge on those Saiyan's as well."

Frieza shot him a dangerous look that made Ginyu suddenly back away and cower.

"Remember Ginyu… the brats from our world are for me and me alone. You do anything to ruin that, no body will stop the pain I would inflict on you. Are we clear on that, Captain?"

"Y-y my lord," Ginyu started, for once forgetting to pose. Frieza smiled mockingly at him.

"Get going then. Do not waste your time standing here doing nothing."

Captain Ginyu bowed deeply and made his way out, doing one more pose before leaving and leaving Frieza with only his thoughts to keep him company. These thoughts were mostly of terrible acts he can still commit to further his hold upon this world make sure his rule becomes completely uncontested, though honestly even now, only a suicidal person would challenge his authority.

However, one small thought did come back to him. It was a thought he couldn't quite get out of his head, no matter how much he tried. It had been coming to him ever since he realized Vegeta, and what looks to be another Saiyan he doesn't know, were going against him.

Usually this notion would have delighted the tyrant. Two more dead monkey morons. Yet, now something was nagging at him. It was about an ancient legend he had heard about long ago while he was taking over the Saiyan's planet. When he had first heard about it, he had brushed it aside as nothing but codswallop. However, when the Saiyan's under his rule began to get stronger as they fought for him, taking on harder missions and defeating powerful races, the ever-perceptive ruler had recalled the legend he had been told. Seeing the potential risk, Frieza had made an executive choice. To eradicate the Saiyan population along with their planet.

Frieza smiled evilly, remembering the massive ball of energy crashing down towards the planet and reducing it into nothing but space rubble. The lightshow that had occurred as a result though had been something he had deemed truly spectacular.

Afterwards, only a handful of Saiyans had remained. Frieza had decided to let them live, using them for himself. They were still useful minions to have after all. But now, as he thought about Vegeta and that other Saiyan that Ginyu had described and the increase of strength they had acquired, he wondered if he should have hunted them all down to extinction. Could their rising power become the legend he had heard about? The legend of the... Super Saiyan?

Frieza clenched his fists tightly, thinking about the possibility. However, just as quickly, he relaxed. He smiled menacingly.

"They are nothing compared to my full and unbridled power. They will die like all the rest of them. Nothing shall save them. Especially not stupid legends about ridiculous Super Saiyan's."

 **Many of the heroes from this world have finally come together. Differences have arisen and arguments have begun. However, the common threat of Salem and Frieza rule above all personal quarrels. But can they fight together as one? Will their training bare fruit? Find out next time on Dragon Ball R.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Authors Note: Hello mates! Welcome back to another chapter of Dragon Ball R! As always, you guys have been too kind with your support, making me thrilled to keep on writing! Today, I don't have much more to say so let's get cracking, shall we?**

 **Last time on Dragon Ball R, most of the heroes have joined together, agreeing to fight against the forces of evil. The more powerful newcomers from another world have agreed to train the Huntsmen of Remnant before the fight begins to get them on a higher level. Meanwhile, Lord Frieza equips his army, pondering the possibilities of legends coming to life! This only motivates him to find his prey before too long! Can our heroes avoid him long enough? Today: Training Begins! Suspicion Arises!**

* * *

Birds chirped as dawn rose over the horizon. The mountain valley that contained the city of Mistral slowly brightened as the light from the sun hit the ornate buildings, streets, and statues. The sounds of morning routines soon began, resounding throughout the entire city.

In one apartment looking over the valley city, the noises being made were slightly peculiar. Yelling and screaming, followed by the crashing of furniture.

"GET OUT!" shrieked Ruby, covering herself with bed sheets along with Yang, Weiss, Nora, Bulma, and Neo, trying not to expose herself to the intruder.

This intruder happened to be none other than the Prince of all Saiyan's. He, unlike the startled and flustered girls, was fully dressed in his battle armor and looking fully awake. His signature scowl was firmly plastered on his face as he glared at the huddled girls, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that they were indecent.

"You brats are taking too long!" he yelled back, "How long does it take to change and wash up? Training begins in two minutes! If you aren't down by then, I will forcefully take you downstairs!"

Before any of the girls could object, he turned on his heel and stormed out, slamming the door behind him so hard that the wall around it creaked in protest. The red-faced girls stayed where they were for a few seconds, collecting their thoughts and breaths. Then Yang suddenly jumped up and rushed to the drawer, frantically getting her clothes. She threw some at Ruby when she saw her, and the others hadn't moved.

"Get moving quick! Do you really think he is joking?! He will come and carry us down there!"

"Why do I have to hurry?" Bulma grumbled irritably, "He knows I'm not training right?"

But she dressed quickly along with the rest of the girls, not wanting to see if Vegeta was being serious. As they finished up, a knock on their door sounded.

"IT HASN'T BEEN TWO MINUTES YET!" Yang roared at the door reflexively.

There was a short silence. Then, "Um, okay?"

The voice belonged to Gohan. Yang immediately looked ashamed of herself. Ruby called out, "Oh, Gohan. Come in, we are basically ready."

Gohan entered. Like Vegeta, he was also in his battle armor, though unlike the Prince the half-Saiyan didn't seem as comfortable in them. Yet, he smiled kindly at the girls.

"Sleep well?" he asked politely.

"Well enough," Weiss replied, Gohan's smile infectious, "It's nice to be around my friends once more."

Ruby elbowed her in the side, winking at her.

"So, you did miss me! You were saying last night before bed that you totally didn't!"

Weiss rolled her eyes, though her smile didn't fade.

"It's called sarcasm, Ruby. You need to read something every once in a while."

As the red head pouted, Gohan chuckled a little. Then he turned to Yang and asked, "I presume you were yelling at Vegeta?"

Yang scowled angrily, not unlike Vegeta.

"That 'Prince' needs to learn some manners. That's the second time he has done that with me."

Gohan sighed.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you were hardly the only ones he did that too. He did the same to me, my dad, Krillin and Dende. However, your reaction was much more appropriate."

The girls gave him puzzled expressions. He sighed once more, looking slightly embarrassed.

"After he yelled at us to get up and start training, my dad agreed wholeheartedly and went ahead to bust into Jaune's, Ren's, Oscar's room along with Qrow's."

"Ooh," Nora whistled, "I wonder how Jaune and Ren felt about that."

"I'm more concerned about how Uncle Qrow reacted to such an intrusion," Yang wondered, exchanging glances with her sister. Weiss, however, still looked slightly confused.

"That doesn't sound like your father. I wouldn't expect him to do something like Vegeta."

Beside her, Bulma gave out a snort of laughter. They turned to her and she said between laughs, "You are a good girl, Weiss. But you don't know Goku that much. I have known him since the beginning and let me say, busting into people's room unannounced sounds exactly like him."

"Yelling angry threats?" Ruby asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh no," Bulma waved dismissively, "He goes the other way around. He thinks he is doing a good thing, so he is usually all smiles and greeting you as you scream and cover yourself."

Neo stared at Bulma. "That sounds like a child."

Bulma sighed, glancing at Gohan.

"Honestly, sometimes Goku acts the same as he did back when he was kid. He has a sweet kid though," Bulma smiled, remembering the good old times, "I fancied him for a bit when he got older. He was cute, charming, and beyond strong. But Chi-Chi got him before I could figure my feelings out."

"Have you ever regretted not doing anything sooner?" Nora asked, careful to keep her tone kind. To her surprise, Bulma gave her a wide smile.

"Nope! Honestly, while I love the guy, I think I need someone else," her voice trailed off as she saw Gohan. His face was beet red and he was looking down uncomfortably.

"Sorry, Gohan," Bulam said sweetly, stepping up and ruffling his hair, "Didn't mean to ramble like that."

Gohan shook his head a little.

"That's not what I was referring to."

Before he could continue, a shadow appeared behind him. As it charged closer, they all saw who it was. An irate Vegeta.

"Ah crap," Yang groaned.

Jaune and Ren were eating a small breakfast, butter with toast, and enjoying a nice chat when they heard screams from above. As they started up to their feet, they could hear thundering footsteps. Then the stairs creaked, and they saw something that made them question if they were actually awake.

Vegeta was storming down the stairs, his face stony. That was normal enough. But it was what he was carrying with him – though "who" would be more accurate. Under each arm and grasped in each hand, four girls were being dragged down with him. Yang and Nora were under the arms while Ruby and Weiss were tightly held by their collars. They were all screaming, kicking and punching at their captor, though they had absolutely no effect on him.

Behind them, Gohan, Bulma, and Neo followed, making sure to keep themselves a few feet behind Vegeta, clearly eager not to be his next luggage.

Jaune and Ren watched, mouths agape as Vegeta reached the bottom step. They expected him to finally drop the girls there. But he simply turned and walked down the staircase towards the back patio, still carrying the girls. Jaune was about to yell at Vegeta but Gohan stopped him.

"Don't say anything, Jaune," the boy said, "He already isn't in a good mood. The last thing you want to do is yell at him."

They heard the door to the patio open and shut quickly, silencing the girls scuffling. Gohan sighed deeply and headed towards the patio himself, gesturing for everyone to follow him.

"We should go to. For our own health."

The others nodded in agreement, though Jaune looked a little disappointed about not being able to finish his toast. But he did not argue and followed Gohan with the others down the stairs and out the patio.

They were met with an absolutely gorgeous day. The morning sun was shining just above the surrounding mountains, casting a happy light over them and giving them warmth. It was the perfect day to go outside and relax. Of course, that wasn't on the itinerary.

On the patio, people were already standing there, chatting and or stretching. Goku, full of energy, was giving his arms a nice stretch while instructing Oscar on how to do the same. Krillin and Dende were watching in fascinated horror as Qrow roared angrily at Vegeta, accusing the Prince of harassing his nieces, who were sitting on the ground, dusting themselves and looking very disgruntled. Vegeta was standing with his arms crossed, facing the irate Huntsmen. He did not move as the man yelled, though his scowl was steadily growing deeper.

As Gohan and his friends walked out, Goku looked over smiling widely at his son.

"There he is! And the others with him. Perfect!" He finished up his stretch and called over to Vegeta, "Everyone's here! Shall we get started?"

"About time," Vegeta grumbled, walking away from the still yelling Qrow, "With the dumbass over here yelling at me and the brats not being ready, I have really begun regretting aligning with this team of idiots."

"Ah don't talk like that," Goku said cheerily, "I'm sure everyone is excited to get started."

Vegeta grimaced, but he said no more. Everyone gathered around, except for Bulma, Dende and Qrow who had all opted out of training. Bulma and Dende had been expected, neither being fighters, but Qrow had been a surprise. When asked about his decision, his response had been, "I'm getting old and at this point, training for me just doesn't seem healthy. Especially the type of training I suspect you will be doing. Besides, I have a suspicion I will not be needing the training as much as you guys."

Ruby and Yang had tried to convince him to join, saying that he was far from old, but he had been adamant about his decision. Now he stood beside Bulma and Dende, still looking quite angry after his dispute with Vegeta. But he watched carefully as the young Huntsmen stepped up, standing across from their instructors: Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin.

The sight was slightly peculiar. A group of teens armed with an assortment of strange and dangerous weapons standing at attention, staring at four people, one of whom was a four-year-old, who were staring right back.

Presently, Goku clapped his hands excitedly. His face was positively jubilant.

"Right! Let's get started!" he gestured to his companions, "I shall explain how we do this. Everyone will be split up between the four of us and will train under their respective mentor. After every break, you will be switched to a different mentor, so you can all be taught with different methods."

He paused here, his eyes glancing quickly at Vegeta. While he valued any type of training, he was very concerned about the type of training Vegeta would incorporate. He had forgotten to ask Yang about her training with the Prince, but he suspected that it hadn't been the most enjoyable. However, he was afraid of saying anything to the Vegeta about it. Not that he was scared of getting beat up. He and Vegeta were at about the same power level. But he was worried that if he said anything, the Prince would get frustrated and leave them. And while Vegeta had done terrible things in the past, including being partially responsible for the deaths of some of Goku's friends, Goku did not hate him. In fact, he respected him greatly for his power and, like Gohan had seen in Piccolo, saw good in the proud Saiyan. But, to get to that point, he would need to make sure Vegeta was satisfied with himself.

"Now before we get started," Goku now continued, addressing the Huntsmen, "I need to point out a few things. First, we will all be using very little of our full power and not using any of our Ki attacks in training. This is simply to make sure that Frieza does find us with his scouter. However, to compensate for this, we will be setting aside time for mental image training where we can go all out. Next, and this is very important," his face hardened, empathizing the seriousness of this next point, "Everyone who has decided to do this training must not back out in the middle or ask for a break until we say so. This training will be hard, especially for the level you guys are right now. You will be put under incredibly physical and mental stress. Stress that could result in painful injuries. If this does occur, Dende will be on stand by and heal you. Once healed, you will be expected to continue training as normal. I know this sounds insane, but it's the only way we can get you much stronger in a short time span. And if you want to fight alongside us against the forces of evil out there and save the ones you love, you will need this. Do you all understand?"

There was a deafening silence. On the sidelines, Bulma looked at Goku, her face full of concern. Even though she still thought of Goku as an overgrown kid sometimes, she also saw the great change in him. A change that had made him more mature but much stricter. Beside her, Dende and Qrow watched on grimly. They had also been affected by Goku's words, glancing at the backs of the Huntsmen and concern for their safety beginning to build.

The silence continued for a few more seconds. Then, simultaneously, the Huntsmen nodded their heads. Despite what Goku had said, all their faces were full of determination.

Seeing their faces, Goku grinned once more. He glanced over at his fellow instructors and nodded. Krillin and Gohan nodded back, grinning as well. Vegeta simply grunted, not looking at Goku.

"Good to see you all are on board," Goku said, scanning all the faces, "Well, shall we waste no more time and split you up. Since there are eight of you, each of us will get…" He stopped, closing his eyes and thinking hard. The Huntsmen before him stared at him, beginning to realize what was going on. Beside him, Vegeta, Krillin and even Gohan looked at him with exasperation.

"Ah yes!" Goku said suddenly, slamming his fist on the palm of his hand, "Two for each of us! Phew, that wasn't easy."

On the sidelines, Dende and Qrow glanced over at Bulma who was currenty burying her face in her hands. When she saw they were staring at her, clearly looking for answers, she sighed.

"Look, I found Goku in the mountains all on his own when he was a boy. Since then, he has never gone to school and I doubt he has even done any academic work. Only did martial arts and training. The only reason he even knows that math problem is probably because of listening to me or maybe even Gohan. That kid is actually quite smart."

The other two didn't say anything and just glanced quickly at Goku, fighting down a small rush of laughter. Bulma was tempted to tell them to shut up, but she soon found herself joining in.

Back with the others, Goku was now going down the line of Huntsmen, examining each one and pondering carefully. While his math skills were… lacking, each Huntsmen could see that when he examined them, his fighting orientated mind was kicked into high gear, considering all the options. Finally, after a few minutes, he smiled and called out, "Yang! Nora! You're starting with me!"

The two girls glanced at each other nervously. While they were slightly thankful not to be chosen by Vegeta, especially after earlier, and they saw Goku as one of the nicest and pure of heart people, they were also very nervous to be training with him. It was very clear that he took the training just as seriously as the Prince, if not more.

As the girls followed Goku to the side, Vegeta stepped up. His dark eyes scanned the line for only a few seconds before he barked, "Red! Blondie! With me, NOW!"

It took a little for Ruby and Jaune to realize who he was referring to. Then it hit them, and they tried to suppress groans, for reasons that were beyond obvious.

They shuffled after Vegeta, receiving a few sympathetic looks as they did so. Goku tensed slightly as Vegeta led them to his corner, suddenly getting a slight urge to intervene. But he dismissed it. He reminded himself that despite everything, Vegeta was also a master fighter. He knew how to train others without killing them. Yang was proof of that.

Gohan now came forward. It was kind of odd that a four-year-old was choosing two teens to give harsh training. But, to all the Huntsmen there, his looks were now far from deceiving.

He looked over everyone, calmly turning his head to look at each of the remaining Huntsmen. Like Vegeta, he did not take too long to make a decision.

"Oscar and Weiss, would you two be so kind as to join me for training?"

The two nodded, smiling at Gohan despite themselves. Though they knew the training under him would be no less harsh, at least their instructor would not be as strict. They trotted behind Gohan as Krillin stepped up and grinned cheekily at the remaining two Huntsmen.

"Guess you guys are with me," he said, "Let me say, I may not be as powerful as Goku or Vegeta, but that doesn't mean I will go easy on you."  
Ren and Neo nodded, gulping slightly. But their faces were still determined. In fact, all the trainees were still sharing the same determined expression. They were all ready to train.

* * *

Captain Ginyu and Adam Taurus walked side by side down a corridor towards the throne room. They spoke little to each other, neither of them really being comfortable with the other. For Adam, the fact that he was walking with someone using Hazels body as their own was disturbing on its own. Add in his genuine undying loyalty to Frieza and constant posing, Adam was sure he wanted to stay as far as possible from the Captain.

As for Ginyu, he simply did not appreciate the fact that Adam was apparently a general of the Frieza Force. He considered him a scrawny and weak boy, not ready or worthy of the Lord's attention.

As they approached the double doors that led to the throne room, Adam broke the silence to ask, "Why do you think Lord Frieza sent for us?"

Ginyu grimaced angrily.

"Does it matter? He sent for us and we must obey! It as simple as that."

Adam suppressed an annoyed sigh. "I get that. But I am just asking what you think he wants? It wasn't long ago he sent us to prepare searching for those targets he wants dead so badly."

Ginyu did not respond for a few moments. Just as Adam concluded that he was ignoring him, Ginyu said, "You listen to me boy. If you value your own life, you won't ask questions. Lord Frieza doesn't appreciate that. And frankly neither do I."

Adam tensed, his fists tightening over the hilt of his katana. Ginyu smirked at the reaction, satisfied.

They continued to walk, reaching the doors shortly. Two guards stood on either side and when they arrived, they stepped in front of them.

"Lord Frieza has requested no one interrupt him until he gives the signal."

Adam frowned at them. "We have just been sent for by him. Please get out of-"

"Of course, we shall wait."

Ginyu cut across Adam sharply, giving the bull faunus a withering look. He then turned and walked a few steps away, gesturing for the boy to follow.

"What was that about?" Adam hissed at him, "You just said if Lord Frieza summons us that we must obey."

"Does that animal brain of yours work?" Ginyu spat, "If he also orders to be alone, then we wait until he is ready for us. All day if necessary."

Adam scoffed and turned away, crossing his arms. Ginyu looked at him, his face becoming thoughtful as he stared at the general. An idea formed in his head.

"You know boy, you need to learn much about discipline if you are to serve in Lord Frieza's army, especially as a general."

Adam snorted, not turning around. "What are you suggesting? Give me classes on how to conduct myself?"

Ginyu grinned and put a hand on Adam's shoulder causing the faunus to whirl around.

"Even better. I have decided to induct you as the first member of the new GINYU FORCE!" At the name he did a flashy pose. Adam stared at him for a few seconds. Then he actually laughed.

"You're joking right? That is absolutely ridiculous. What even is the Ginyu Force or whatever you call it? Your band?"

Ginyu shook his head, tutting. "No, my uninitiated pupil. The Ginyu Force is the elite fighting squad that serves Lord Frieza, led by me. Back in our world, I had four powerful, unique and flamboyant fighters alongside me that were part of the previous Ginyu Force. However," he clenched his fist tightly and his smile melted, "They were massacred by those Earthling scum and Saiyan punks! Now, I must rebuild the ultimate fighting squad and you can be the first member. You will begin as my pupil and rise up to become the second in command! What do you say?"

Adam looked at him incredulously. Before he could flat out refuse, one of the guards suddenly gave out a throaty gasp. They turned just in time to see him, surrounded in a purple aura, explode into a shower of armor and blood. The other guard staggered back from the explosion. Adam couldn't fault him. Even he was shaking slightly as he stared at the spot where the poor guard had been.

The other guard gulped hard and straightened up. He turned to Adam and Ginyu and said, trembling with every word, "L-Lord Frieza w-will see you n-now."

He stepped to the side and allowed the two to push the double doors open and enter the throne room. Frieza stood in the center of the room, his arms behind his back and ice-cold smile on his face as they entered.

"It is good you two were able to come on time," he said in a silky voice, "I do hope you can forgive me for making you wait."

Ginyu bowed quickly and Adam followed.

"You never have to ask forgiveness of us, my lord!" Ginyu said loudly, "We are forever in your service and will follow any order you give!"

Frieza narrowed his eyes at Ginyu.

"Us?" he asked, "Since when have you and the boy been an 'us'?"

Ginyu looked up and smiled widely. "You see, my lord, Adam here has become the first member of the new Ginyu Force!"  
Beside him, Adam looked appalled.

"I never agreed to that! I was actually going to refuse your stupid offer!"

Ginyu rounded on him, using Hazel's body to tower over the bull faunus. "How dare you talk like that in the presence of Lord Frieza! If you have something to take up with your Captain, you will wait till the appropriate time!"

"YOU AREN'T MY CAPTAIN!" Adam roared back, facing Ginyu despite his size difference.

The two were now face to face, ready to come to blows. That is until Frieza's voice cut through the air.

"Guard! Could you come in for a second?"

Adam and Ginyu glanced at the entrance to see the other guard stumble inside, bowing as he came forward.

"How can I serve you Lord-"

The guard never finished his question as Frieza raised a single finger and fired a death beam straight through him. He slumped to the floor in front of the arguing duo, his eyes blank. They looked at the corpse. Then, trembling slightly, they slowly looked up at Frieza. The Lord was sporting an especially disgusted look.

"If either of you says another word, you will be joining him," he stated, his tone deadly calm.

Adam and Ginyu both nodded quickly and stepped away from each other, bowing down once more. Frieza stared down for a few more seconds before turning away.

"Now we can finally get down to business. I have called you two in here for a very important reason. From now until I say, you will be training."  
He turned back around to see his subordinates staring at him in shock. Even Ginyu couldn't contain his surprise. Frieza smirked.

"You seem surprised. Allow me to elaborate then," he walked up to Ginyu and stared down at him, "While your new body cannot feel pain and your old moves have transferred with you into this body, your actual fighting ability has decreased quite significantly. To give you some perspective, judging by what my scouters tell me, your power level is about equal to some of the grunt soldiers I used to have. Definitely lower than Zarbon and Dodoria."

Ginyu blanched slightly. He bowed his head low.

"I did not realize I have become so weak. Of course, I will train, my lord. I must be useful if I would like to serve you well."

Frieza nodded and turned to Adam.

"As for you, you are simply weak period. Maybe somewhat strong compared to others on this god forsaken world, but that is hardly a special feat."

Adam kept his head down, letting the harsh words strike him. Of course, he did not dare argue. He just nodded before standing up with Ginyu, ready to leave and train. They both bowed once more, waiting to be dismissed.

However, Frieza once again shocked them.

"Oh, I did forget to mention one small thing," he smiled wickedly, and Adam knew immediately that what was coming next would not be anything good.

"You will not be training outside by yourselves. You will be here, training in front of me."

Adam and Ginyu both caught their breaths. Frieza chortled at their reaction, his smile not wavering. Then Ginyu quickly stepped forward, bowing deeply before his master.

"My lord! It would be an absolute honor to train before you!"

Adam stepped forward too, but he did not bow. He narrowed his eyes at Frieza, mustering all his courage to ask his question.

"Why do you want us to train here in front of you? Surely that would be distracting to you when you have other business to attend to."

Frieza glanced at Adam, his smile only becoming crueler.

"Ah, my boy. You are not wrong of course. But I have decided to personally make sure that you both become strong enough to serve me efficiently."

Ginyu gulped hard, trying to nod. Adam was shaking uncontrollably, hoping he was dreaming. He was hoping that in any second Frieza would just laugh and call it a joke. But it never came. The galactic space tyrant just kept on smiling and Adam realized with a pang of absolute terror that he was being completely serious.

Ginyu was first to recover.

"When do we begin my lord?"

Frieza's expression turned devilish.

"Oh, we are starting right now of course," he snapped his fingers. The double doors swung wide open and a large troop of Frieza Force troops marched in, fully armed and armored in high tech Atlas gear. As Ginyu and Adam watched, they stopped a few feet before them, standing straight and ready. Their eyes glared at the duo and they realized what the training was going to be. They looked over at Frieza. He had walked back to his throne and was now sitting upon it, looking down on them, a wine glass in his hand. His grin was beyond cruel.

"I hope you're ready. Just to warn you though, a half-hearted effort will result in a quick death."

* * *

The sun had risen to its peak over Mistral City. The heat radiated down in waves, making what had earlier been pleasant become unbearable. With no breeze coming through, the temperature only kept on rising.

On the patio, the Huntsmen were in the midst of their training. The four groups were at four corners of the patio, doing their respective exercises and while they were all different, all the Huntsmen were the same. Barely conscious.

Goku was watching Yang and Nora complete a set of ten thousand pushups and sit-ups. They were both nearly at the same point at about seven thousand pushups completed and they both looked on the very verge of collapse. Pools of sweat expanded beneath them as they continued. What made it worse was the fact that Goku was watching them struggle while doing a handstand with only one finger and pushing up and down. He had been doing it since they had started and had not broken a sweat, easily having the energy to shout out encouragement and advice to them.

As he watched, a small smile played on his lips. Though they were still working through their first set of pushups and nearly on the verge of collapse, both their physical and aura strength becoming depleted, he saw their faces as they worked. They were hard set, determined to complete their assigned exercise. He recognized it as the same face he had when overcoming an especially dangerous threat.

Just then, as she began doing another pushup, Nora's arms suddenly gave way and she hit the ground hard, wheezing painfully. Beside her, Yang looked like she wanted to say something, but was unable to under her exhaustion and just focused on continuing her set.

Nora lay motionless for a few seconds, continuing to wheeze. Goku watched her carefully, stopping his own vertical pushups for a second. Just as he was about to say something, Nora suddenly looked up and Goku saw a wild grin on her face.

"Oops," she gasped with a sly tone, "Looks like I slipped. Sorry teach."

With that she got back into position and continued, smirking a little as she noticed Yang's startled look. However, the look was soon replaced by her own smirk and she returned to her pushups, saying to Nora, "I won't let you outdo me Valkyrie."

"Bring it on Xiao Long!"

They began once more, putting in even more effort and trying to outdo the other despite both being on the verge of blacking out. They were so engaged in their little competition, they did not notice Goku's wide smile.

Across the patio, Gohan's group were doing a more specific type of training. Gohan had explained to Weiss and Oscar that he had chosen them, so they could spar each other with their weapons. Since they were both weapons used in similar fashion, Gohan had thought that it would be a good idea for them to fight each other.

At first, it had worked very well. The two sparred well, Weiss easily having the upper hand since Oscar had very little experience with the cane, not being controlled by Ozpin. But it was still a good way for Gohan to examine the exchanges and give out advise and tips. However, soon enough, he saw that it wasn't strenuous enough. So, he decided to change the exercise a bit. They would both try to attack him, aiming to hit his stomach or chest. He explained that he would be using his arms to block and that the goal is to strategize a plan around the arms.

Now, a few hours later, Weiss and Oscar were still swiping and jabbing at the four-year-old, yet to get a hit successful hit off as Gohan effortlessly read the moves and blocked them. It only was becoming easier for the half-Saiyan as his trainees tired out, their strikes becoming slower and more labored.

Yet, despite hating seeing them like this, he did not allow them to stop. Before they had begun training, his father had pulled him aside and had made him promise that no matter how tired or beaten up the Huntsmen were, he was not to stop the regime until break time.

"It's for their own good," he had said, putting a strong hand on Gohan's shoulder. Gohan knew he was right, but as he blocked the now sluggish attacks, he found himself thinking what his friends now thought of him.

In the third corner, Krillin was putting Ren and Neo through an extra hard edition of tag. He jumped, spun and even dashed between them as they tried to tag him. Despite their talent in speed and mobility already, they had been far from successful.

The point of the exercise was simple enough. Since the two were speedy fighters, they would practice on becoming even faster and nimbler. So, all they needed to do was catch Krillin and hit him, without using their weapons.

Despite the simple premise, Ren and Neo soon found that it was much harder said than done. They twisted, turned, zig zagged, spun, dashed, and even leaped toward their target. However, Krillin always dodged, his form becoming almost invisible due to his speed. It didn't take long for the two trainees to realize that he was going at speed far greater than theirs. They also believed that he wasn't even using his top speed.

With this realization in mind, they tried to take a smarter approach. Working together, one of them tried to distract him while the other would dart around and attack from behind. At first, it actually seemed to work. Ren did the distracting and Krillin seemed to be solely focused on dodging him. Neo darted quickly and silently behind and, at the right moment, dashed forward towards the monks back. Just before she hit him, Krillin suddenly back flipped over and landed behind her. Neo tried to skid to a halt, but her momentum carried her straight into Ren and they tumbled to the ground in a heap.

Now, they were training again once more, though their own speed was falling slowly. Just like with Oscar and Weiss, the fatigue was catching up to them, making them slower and more labored and making the job far easier for Krillin. Yet, they continued determinedly, trying desperately to get a hit on the short martial artistist. However, all they managed to hit was his shadow.

While these six Huntsmen were undergoing harsh and backbreaking training from Goku, Gohan, and Krillin, it was far better than the hellish training of Vegeta. His trainees, Ruby and Jaune, were literally on deaths door.

They were suffering through the extreme version of the training Vegeta had given to Yang. He would stay in one spot and the objective was simply to hit him. At first, he did not explain any more than this and the two trainees felt a fleeting bit hope that maybe the Prince would not be as harsh as he seems. Unfortunately for them, it would be far from the truth.

Jaune was the first to go. He circled around Vegeta, sword and shield drawn, watching him carefully. Vegeta stood still, his arms crossed, and his eyes closed. This stance seemed to provoke Jaune. He cried a battle cry and executed a quick thrust with his sword straight at Vegeta's chest. Faster than he could register, Vegeta ducked down below the strike. Then the Prince suddenly darted forward just as quickly and fired a powerful counter straight into Jaunes stomach. Despite the sturdy armor he was wearing, Jaune felt his breath get stolen completely and his aura almost shatter entirely. Vegeta pulled back, returning to his spot and watching Jaune coldly as he collapsed to the floor chocking uncontrollably.

"Jaune!" Ruby had cried, running to her friend and kneeling beside him, "Jaune! Are you okay?"

Jaune tried to respond, but all that came out was a throaty grunt. Ruby glanced over at Vegeta, staring down at them with contempt. Her anger flared. She gripped her scythe and activated her Semblance, turning her body into a small tornado of roses petals. In this, she sped about Vegeta, her speed increased almost ten-fold by the Semblance. Despite this performance, Vegeta looked completely unimpressed, not moving a muscle as she circled around him quickly.

Suddenly, Ruby broke from the circle and rushed toward him. Just as the rose tornado reached him, she returned to normal and used her scythe to make a diagonal slice at the Prince. This time, the Prince only bothered to tilt his head to the side, letting the blade slice over him. Before Ruby had to time to get over her surprise and realize her vulnerability, Vegeta grabbed her arm, holding her still. Then he drove his knee straight into her chest.

The poor girl screamed in pain as she felt her aura shatter and her ribs crack. Vegeta let her fall to the ground, looking completely unconcerned. Behind him, the other trainees turned to the scream of their friend, crying out in fear and anger. However, before they could go to her aid, their own instructors called them back to line. Yet, even Gohan and Krillin were looking nervous as they watched Ruby on the ground. They glanced over at Goku, asking him a silent question. The powerful Saiyan received the message. But he only shook his head slightly before returning to training his Huntsmen.

On the sidelines, Qrow and Dende had sprung to their feet. The former's face was contorted in uncontrollable rage, glowering at Vegeta as he stood over the coughing and whimpering Ruby. Dende looked far more concerned about the girl's health and they both started toward her and Vegeta, when Bulma called out, "Don't do it."

They looked back at her. She was sitting at the patios picnic table, a whole assortment of tools before her as she tinkered with a strange device. It looked like a small compass, but when asked about it, she said to let her concentrate.

"What do you mean don't do it?!" Qrow snarled, "That psychotic bastard will kill my niece if he does something like that a few more times. Her aura will not be able to recover and heal her in time."

Bulma looked over at him, her face calm despite the fury in Qrow's voice. She pointed to Goku, who was doing his one finger pushups.

"If Goku says that everything is alright, then you just have to trust him. I know he looks and acts goofy, but he will know if your niece is in mortal danger and he will not let her die, no matter what."

She gestured back to their seats, imploring them to take a seat before they made a scene. They stood, watching Goku for a few seconds, before sitting down, Qrow still looking very angry.

Now, almost five hours later, the two trainees of Vegeta were barely holding themselves together. It had been a constant cycle of trying to attack, missing and then being countered painfully by the Prince. Multiple bones had been broken in the process and their aura was reduced to shreds, only a sliver left to keep them from collapsing entirely. As for Vegeta, he was still standing still, looking down at them with contempt.

It was now Ruby's turn to attack, with Jaune lying on the ground nearby, his only movement being gasping heaves. The red head struggled once more to her feet, using her scythe as support to stand herself up. As she did so, her entire body screamed in protest and a searing shot of pain fired up her. She yelped and dropped back down to the ground.

"Come on!" Vegeta barked, "I'm not going to wait all day here!"

Ruby looked up at him. Even the use of her neck sent pain through her. But she looked up at him, her face contorted in pain and anger. However, she had only one thing to ask.

"Why…? H-how does this… count a-as training?"

Vegeta smirked at the question.

"I am building up your durability while also showing you how to counter an attack. If you have been watching how I do it, you will begin to see the many different methods."

Beside her, Ruby heard Jaune mutter, "I have been feeling them thank you very much."

The fact that the broken knight could still make a joke was beyond Ruby. She would have laughed if her lungs didn't feel like they were being compressed into jelly. Vegeta didn't chuckle either.

"You two should be grateful. I am making sure that none of my hits kill you on impact. If I had truly wanted to, I could just end it all in one swift blow."

Hearing him say that made Ruby's blood boil. Despite her numerous injuries, she staggered to her feet once more. She glowered right at Vegeta and she felt her eyes tingle for a second. As she looked, Vegeta suddenly lost his bored expression and for the first time stared at her truly. His eyes widened.

"Wait… what are you - your eyes! STOP!"

But Ruby did not hear him. Her rage was overwhelming her. It covered her vision in a silver light and an unbelievable sensation overcame her. An urge to release something. She roared, about to release the energy when suddenly she felt something smash straight into her stomach and the sensation was gone. In fact, the whole world seemed to fade away into darkness.

* * *

Her eyes flew open. Ruby sat up, the pain she had been feeling gone. Before she could even ask herself how that was possible, she noticed her surroundings and the lack of pain soon became the last thing on her mind.

The patio she had been on before was gone. The city of Mistral was gone. All of it was replaced by a barren wasteland, surrounded by dark foreboding mountains in the distance. There were no trees, no birds, no buildings and most disturbingly, no people. The only sound was the howling of the wind as it blew by.

Ruby staggered to her feet, not registering that she had done so without any pain. She reached behind her for her weapon, but found it was not there. That immediately made her feel much more afraid.

"H-hello?" she called out, cursing herself for stuttering. Her voice echoed slightly, reverberating off the surrounding mountains. No one answered. Nothing moved.

"Hello?" Ruby called again, her voice growing louder. Still nothing. She was about to do it a third time when suddenly the ground seemed to flicker. She stepped back slightly and as she did, so her foot stepped on something with a sickening crunch. She looked back to see what it was. What she saw took the voice completely out of her.

Under her foot lay the body of a human. It was barely recognizable due to its rotting green flesh and the fact that when Ruby took away her foot quickly, the skin and bone that had been stepped on crumbled to dust. But that was not what Ruby noticed the most. It was who the corpse was. It was wearing gold and white armor, a sword with the same color pallet laying a few yards away. The face was fair, and a mop of blonde hair topped its head.

Ruby felt tears race down her cheeks as she stared in mute horror at Jaune Arcs corpse. It couldn't be possible! Jaune had just been with her a second ago though.

It was then she looked around her and saw what the ground had shifted into. The ground itself hadn't changed, but now bodies littered it. Emaciated and broken and all having the faces and clothes of people she knew and loved.

Weiss. Yang. Blake. Nora. Ren. Qrow. Tai. Oscar. Gohan. Krillin. Bulma. Neo. Vegeta. Even Cinder Fall, her arch-enemy.

She finally found her voice only to scream a guttural cry of fear and grief. She backed away quickly, falling back, tears gushing out and her breathing coming in sharp painful gasps.

It was then she heard laughter. It came from behind her and she quickly turned to locate the source. She immediately wished she hadn't.

A figure stood only a few yards away. Its body was short and humanoid and the color of milk. However, it sported a tail and a head that was round with a purple forehead. It was an unfamiliar figure. Unfamiliar except for the eyes. Sharp and blood red.

Ruby stifled a scream as she realized who it must be. Then she noticed that his hands were grasped around a man's throat. The man was wearing orange martial arts clothes and had black spikey hair. The man was unmistakable to Ruby. It was Goku.

As she watched, Frieza, Ruby not knowing that he was in his final and true form, tightened his hold on Goku's neck. As he did so, a cruel smile widened over his lips.

"Such a pitiful performance," he said quietly, "And to think you were this legendary Super Saiyan. But there is nothing special with you. You are just a filthy monkey that thought he could kill the almighty Lord Frieza."

Frieza threw back his head and laughed maniacally. In his grip, Goku suddenly opened his palm and fired a massive Ki blast straight at Frieza. However, the tyrant simply jumped away before it reached him and dashed forward, grabbing the Saiyan once more before he could escape. His smile never wavered.

"I will say you do have spirit. But that does not win battles."

He pointed his finger at Goku's face and he said, a cold finality in his voice, "So long monkey. Rot in Hell!"

Ruby watched in horror as a beam of energy fired from the tip of Frieza's finger and punctured right through Goku's face. The Saiyan did not yell as his life was taken away. He simply slumped down, lifeless as a rag doll. It took all Ruby's willpower not to scream his name or choke out a sob.

Frieza tossed him to the side, grinning evilly as he watched Goku's body join all the others on the ground.

"To believe he and his foolish friends did make me go to my final form," Frieza muttered, "I am truly surprised. But, of course, even in my final form, I only had to use five percent of my true power."

He chuckled a little. Then suddenly he straightened. He turned his head and looked straight at Ruby. The young Huntsmen screamed in absolute horror as the tyrant gave her an ice-cold stare and slowly walked over, raising his finger slowly.

* * *

"AHHHH!"

Ruby sat bolt upright, panting heavily. She looked around frantically.

On one side, a surprised looking Dende had fallen back onto a concerned looking Gohan and Bulma. On the other side, her fellow Huntsmen were all kneeing next to her, looking just as concerned. Even Neo was there, her face creased with worry lines.

Ruby focused on her friends, realizing they were all alive and well. She looked around to see that she was once again sitting on the patio, the sun beaming down on them. Down in the valley below, she could hear the bustling of thousands of people in the city of Mistral.

As this all came to her, her nightmare came to her once more. The vision of her dead friends imprinted in her mind. The figure that was Frieza and his horrific laugh.

She felt herself shaking, tears once more pooling to her eyes as she looked and saw all her friends, alive and well.

"Ruby, what-" Weiss was about to ask when Ruby launched from her lying position, flying towards her and the others. She embraced as many bodies as she could, crying profusely. They were all taken aback for a second. But they soon returned her embrace, whispering words of comfort.

"Well," Bulma said awkwardly, watching the hugging fest, "That was weird. I mean, I know Vegeta nearly killed her and but," she trailed off, trying to find the words to describe what she meant.

Despite her lack of description, Gohan nodded knowingly.

"I know what you mean. I don't think this is about that. I think," suddenly he remembered the day before when Ruby had frozen still for a few seconds, seeing a sort of vision.

"Um, Ruby," Gohan asked, wondering if he was being crazy, "Can you tell me something."

Ruby, who had made sure to go around and hug all her Huntsmen friends, turned to face him. Her face was still covered in tears, but she seemed less hysterical. She even smiled at him.

"Oh, Gohan! I was just about to come and hug you to!"

Gohan chuckled a little uncomfortably.

"Thanks, but that wasn't what I was wondering about. I was wondering if you had another nightmare."

Ruby froze, her smile melting off quickly. Her friends looked at her, realization dawning on their faces about her attitude to them since waking up.

"How did you know?"

Ruby's voice was low and gravelly. Gohan looked down sadly, knowing he had hit the mark. But before he could say anything else, the group were interrupted by loud yelling. They all turned to see Goku, Vegeta, Krillin and Qrow standing a few yards away. Qrow was beside himself with anger, trying to get at Vegeta. Krillin was holding him back while Goku was conversing with Vegeta. Both Saiyan's looked on the verge of a confrontation, their stances tense and fists clenched.

Ruby watched them for a few seconds along with the others. Then she turned to her friends, looking a little confused. They just exchanged annoyed looks with each other.

"Don't worry about it, Ruby," Yang said, putting a hand on your shoulder, "Uncle Qrow is just trying to beat Vegeta up for almost killing you."

"Ohhh," Ruby said, "I'm surprised you're not as angry, Yang."

Yang rolled her eyes.

"Trust me, when you were still out cold, we were all completely furious. We all tried to attack Vegeta. But Goku, Gohan and Krillin got in the way and told us to get healed by Dende," Yang gave Gohan an annoyed look to which the kid looked down once more in embarrassment. Ruby smiled a little.

"While I appreciate the sentiment you guys, I am happy that they stopped you. Vegeta probably would have ended you guys."

"Yes, we understood that after we calmed down," Weiss said, "But your uncle hasn't quite yet."

She gestured at Qrow, still trying to get at Vegeta. Ruby stood, realizing finally that she was fully healed thanks to Dende. She bowed to him appreciatively, thanking him before heading towards the group of adults. Her friends quickly got up and followed.

"Move, Krillin! I'm going to make this bastard pay dearly for this! Get out of my way!"

Qrow was spluttering insults and threats as he tried to step around Krillin. The monk kept himself in front of Qrow, holding him back while trying to calm him down. As Ruby and her friends came, Krillin saw them and pointed to her.

"Look, she's all better now!"

Qrow turned around quickly. When he saw Ruby, he momentarily forgot about Vegeta and quickly rushed to her and brought her into a hug. It was very unlike him to be so sappy, but Ruby was grateful for it. She needed all the positive reinforcement she could get, plus it got her uncles mind off of Vegeta.

After a few moments, Qrow broke away, looking her up and down.

"How you are feeling squirt?"

"Physically, I'm better than ever. Mentally," Ruby hesitated for a second, "Well, I want everyone to hear this. Including them."

She gestured to the two Saiyan's. They were still in a heated argument and they kept going even when everyone approached.

"Listen, Kakarot!" Vegeta was saying, "I don't know if you could sense it, but I did! Her eyes were about to release a large amount of energy. I stopped her before she could alert Frieza to our location!"

"I did sense it, Vegeta," Goku fired back, "But you could have killed her. In fact, she was lucky to survive, especially in the condition she already was in after your brutal training."

Vegeta scoffed.

"So that's what this is all about. You don't approve of my training?" He spat on the ground in front of Goku, "I don't need your useless approval, Kakarot! I am the Prince of all Saiyan's and you are but a low-class warrior! You are lucky enough to receive my help in training these runts!"

Vegeta scowled at Goku and for once, he received a scowl right back.

"I know that you believe your training is the best and I agree that it does make the body stronger much quicker. Doing it with me, Krillin or even Gohan would be completely fine since we could take it. But the others are not ready for that at his stage. You should know that, Vegeta!"

The two faced each other, fire in both of their eyes as they glared right at each other. Before either could say or do anything else, Ruby stepped forward and cleared her throat, grabbing their attention. She turned to look at Vegeta and despite wanting to be angry at him, she couldn't after what she had seen. Plus, he had said something that she needed to confirm.

"Vegeta," she said calmly, "You said I was about to release energy out of my eyes, right?"

Vegeta turned his scowl to her.

"Have you not been listening? Yes, that's what I said. What, do you not remember doing it?"

Ruby shook her head.

"But that isn't the first time it happened. I have done it once before. Back at… Beacon."

A quite silence fell over the group. Her fellow Huntsmen looked down uncomfortably, memories from that day coming back to them. Qrow nodded slowly.

"You mean that time you did it on the top against Cinder? After…," he hesitated.

"Pyrrha died."

Jaune said quietly. They all looked at him. A single tear was streaking down his face and he quickly turned around wiping it away. Ruby nodded sadly, the memory of seeing Cinder standing over Pyrrha, crystal bow drawn, surfacing in her mind.

"Yes," she said simply. Then she glanced at Vegeta and to everyone's surprise, she smiled slightly.

"Thanks for stopping me. I was beyond controlling myself at that point. If I had done it… I could have doomed us all."

Vegeta smirked.

"You may be weak, but at least you're quick to understand."

Ruby frowned at him a little. Behind her, Qrow and Yang stepped forward angrily but Gohan and Krillin quickly held them back from going further. Meanwhile, Goku smiled at Ruby.

"Good to see your back up, Ruby," he said happily, "I know it doesn't seem like a long break, but we are going to start training again soon. Everyone is going to be paired up with a different person. And Vegeta will be a bit gentler this time," he glared pointedly at the Prince who scowled deeply back. However, he did not argue, seemingly too bored to do so at this point.

Ruby nodded.

"I understand. We need to get stronger quick. But before we start, I want to tell everyone about what I saw when I was knocked out."

Everyone stood around her and listened quietly as she recalled her nightmare to them, describing ever detail despite herself. The reactions she received were to be expected. Faces of horror, disgust, anger and sadness when she talked about the dead bodies on the ground. Goku's face was stony when he heard about his death at the hands of Frieza. As Ruby neared the end, she almost broke into tears when she came to the part of the murderous monster coming to her, about to kill her. But she forced herself to finish, telling herself that if she could not even finish a story, how could she ever face her opponents when the time came. Including the one she had seen.

Once she finished, there was a moment of silence around the group. No one knew quite what to say. There was quite a lot to unpackage and none of it was good. The first to finally speak was Vegeta, who looked especially angry after the story. Ruby had a suspicion it was because he had been told that he had been killed.

"Let me get this straight," he said, his voice deadly serious, "Frieza said that he was in his final form, right?"

Ruby nodded. "Remember, this was all just a nightmare. We can't take everything I saw as gospel."

Vegeta shook his head.

"Frieza can transform. I know this to be true. But by the way you phrased it, it sounds like he as more than one transformation. This means that the form he is in now is just a minuscule piece of his power."

Vegeta let that hang, his scowl only getting deeper as he thought about it. The others were silent, all thinking the same thing. How could this get any more hopeless?

The only one who didn't look completely down was Goku. He was pondering something, scratching his head hard as he did so. The action made a few of his companions' glance at him curiously.

"You thinking about something buddy?" Krillin asked.

Goku nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah. I was just thinking about what Ruby said. Something about Super Saiyan's or something. I have never heard of such a thing."

Yang perked up slightly.

"Now that you mention it, I think I remember Vegeta telling me about that legend on the day I met him," she turned to Vegeta for confirmation. The Prince snapped out of his stupor and nodded, his scowl coming back in full once more.

"The Legendary Super Saiyan is a legend that has been passed down generations of Saiyan's. It describes that once in every thousand years, a Saiyan warrior will achieve this power and lead the other Saiyan's. As a child, I was sure that this legend would be the end of Frieza."

His scowl deepened even more and Goku asked, "Then why do you look so angry, Vegeta? If Ruby saw something about me becoming a Super Saiyan, isn't that a good sign?"

Vegeta rounded on him, snarling.

"First off, the brat did not see you as a Super Saiyan. Second, the fact that it is you that was thought to be a Super Saiyan is what really pisses me off!"

Goku looked at him confused. The others, however, caught onto what he was saying. They sighed in exasperation and Yang even voiced what they all suspected.

"You believe that you are destined to become the Super Saiyan, don't you?"

"Well of course!" Vegeta barked, "I am the Prince of all Saiyan's! There is no one worthier than I!"

Nora sniggered a little and the Saiyan Prince turned to her.

"If that's all true mister, then why aren't you a Super Saiyan right now? Why don't you go and take on Frieza right now?"

Vegeta stared at her for a second. Then growled in frustration and turned away from the group. As he did so, Ren leaned in next to Nora and whispered, "Please don't do that again. I was worried he would just kill you then and there."

Nora made a very uncharacteristic sneer.

"Honestly, Ren, I doubt I can even promise that to you. I am getting so sick and tired of his attitude."

"You're not alone."

Weiss and Jaune grimaced in Vegeta's direction, their fists tightening around their weapons. Goku noticed this and stepped between them and the Prince, trying to give them all a winning smile.

"Alright everyone, let's calm down. I'm sure that this whole Super Saiyan isn't a big deal. Maybe me and Vegeta haven't trained enough yet."

"It doesn't come from training you dolt!" Vegeta called from behind him, "It comes to you through destiny! Which is why it must be mine!"

A figure suddenly broke off from the crowd. It was Bulma. Before anyone could say anything, she headed straight toward Vegeta and slapped him across the cheek. A loud report sounded and caused many to wince before looking agape at the blue haired scientist. Even Vegeta himself, who had barely felt it, was looking at her in complete shock.

"DO YOU ONLY CARE ABOUT YOURSELF!? SERIOUSLY ALL I HAVE HEARD FROM YOUR MOUTH IS HOW EVERYTHING YOU DO IS RIGHT AND HOW EVERYONE AROUND YOU IS A WASTE OF YOUR TIME! YOU DON'T EVEN CARE IF WE FOUND SOMETHING THAT COULD HELP US DEFEAT FRIEZA AS LONG AS YOU AREN'T THE ONE WITH THAT SOMETHING! SUCK UP YOUR PRIDE FOR ONCE YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!"

Her accusation rang thickly in the air. They resonated in the ears of everyone on the patio, especially the Prince.

The silence that followed was beyond uncomfortable. It was deafening. All the others were staring at Bulma, feeling shock and terror at her performance.

Vegeta said nothing at first. All he did was stare at Bulma for a few moments, considering the option of killing this human. But, in the end, all he did was straighten up and grunt.

"It doesn't matter right now," he said gruffly, "Neither me or Kakarot are Super Saiyan's. For now, all we can do is train as much and become as strong as possible before our encounter with the likes of Frieza."

Bulma huffed indignantly.

"Well, at least you understand that much. Don't forget that you're going to be a bit easier on your next batch!"

She jabbed a finger at his chest before turning on her heel and marching back to the picnic table where she sat down and began resuming construction of her device. The Prince stared at her as she retreated, not quite knowing what to say. Then he just growled in annoyance and crossed his arms.

Goku nodded in agreement, breathing a small sigh of relief for Bulma's safety. "Vegeta's right. While Ruby's vision has given us some important info and maybe even a clue on how to defeat Frieza, for now we need to do what we know can help. And we have been on break for far too long!"

He said this last part with a wide smile on his face, despite the slight groans he received from the Huntsmen. However, before he and his fellow instructors could begin choosing different trainees, Qrow suddenly spoke up.

"As much as I hate to leave my nieces behind with you insane trainers, I need to run an important errand."

Ruby and Yang immediately glanced at him with suspicion.

"Are you trying to escape us and run off to a bar or something?" Yang asked.

Qrow let out a short bark of laughter. "I wish kid. No, I got something to do under 'Ozpins' orders," he scowled down at Oscar who quickly looked away, "Still can't believe I'm going to be following your orders after everything. But it doesn't seem I have any choice."

"Where are you going then?" Ruby asked curiously.

"He will be going to Haven Academy to meet up with Professor Lionheart," a familiar wise voice said. They all turned to see Ozpin in Oscar's body, smiling sadly at the group.

"That was the original plan to start with and I believe it is still the natural first step. We need to get Professor Lionheart's support before anything. Qrow should be the only one going since he is the only one Lionheart will recognize."

He then hesitated for a moment.

"Well, he technically knows me, but in a different body and I don't believe it quite wise yet to reveal that I am already in a new body just yet."

Qrow scoffed at this.

"Maybe you just want to do it because you're afraid someone else will rip on you for being a lying piece of crap."

Ozpin flinched slightly. Goku came up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough, Qrow," he said coolly, "He is already beginning to make up for his past mistakes. He is helping us plan while also training his new body."

Ozpin looked up at Goku gratefully. Qrow just sighed and turned to walk away.

"In any case," he called back, "I will be out for a few hours. I want my nieces and all the other kids for that matter to be intact and alive when I get back," he paused and shot a filthy look at Vegeta, "I'm talking to you, Prince!"

Vegeta only responded with an angry grunt. As Qrow was about to make his way back into the apartment, Bulma stood up.

"I will come with you to," she said, tossing aside one of the wires she had been working with, "I need a break from this and I need to stop by that old ladies electronic store again for some more parts."

Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know if that's wise-"

Bulma cut him off quickly, snapping at him.

"It will be fine mister grumpy! I won't get in the way when you talk to your Lionheart buddy. I will just say I am a companion you met on the way. Besides, I want to feel like I'm doing something!"

Krillin stepped forward to the picnic table. He peered down at the machine Bulma had been making.

"I thought this thing was something that would help us," he said cautiously, careful not get under her skin, "I mean, whenever you worked on something in the past, it was always something to help us in our endeavors."

Bulma scowled towards the bald monk, putting her hands on her hips. She was beginning to go full sass mode.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Krillin. You know I was sitting here this entire time, and not once did anyone ask what I was doing."

Gohan raised his hand awkwardly, as if he was at school.

"To be fair, we were training our friends."

Bulma smirked.

"Oh, yes. Goku was so busy doing handstand pushups. He couldn't look over and ask, 'Hey, Bulma, what are you making?'"

Goku winced, cowering under the withering look Bulma gave him. Krillin coughed, grabbing her attention once more.

"Alright, Bulma. We are sorry for not… paying attention to you I guess," he ventured, "But seriously, what are you building here?"

Bulma seemed like she was about to go on another tirade, but she caught herself quickly and instead sighed in defeat.

"It was supposed to be a tracker for the Relics, similar to the Dragon Radar. The Relic Radar if you will."

They all blinked. They had not expected to hear such a simple but truly useful idea. Qrow ruined the parade slightly when he grunted, clearly unimpressed.

"We know where the Relics are. They are under each of the four Academy's in Remnant."

Bulma smirked in his direction.

"Someone is clearly not thinking outside the box. What if someone gets a hold of the Relics before we do? What if Salem or Frieza decides to launch a surprise attack and takes them or destroy them? What then? How long will it take to slowly search for that Relic?"

Qrow didn't respond, swiftly defeated by her argument.

Bulma, satisfied with herself, was about to grab her stuff when Ozpin called out, "Alright, I have to ask. I have seen you do insane stuff. Stuff without the help of dust power and high-tech machinery. But I cannot even fathom how you plan to track four singular objects scattered around the globe!"

Bulma turned to him, looking a bit annoyed. But she answered nonetheless.

"Like I said before, I built a radar for seven mystical Dragon Balls back on Earth when I was just a teen. It was hard and all, but I did it all the same. It has helped us on countless occasions, hasn't it?" she glanced over at Goku, Krillin and Gohan who all nodded in response. She continued, "Anyway, believe it or not, that device on the table used to actually be that same Dragon Radar. We had it with us on Namek to find the Namekian Dragon Balls."

She pointed to the deconstructed compass looking device. Krillin peered at it again, much closer this time and suddenly recognized it to be the remains of the Dragon Radar. He looked up at Bulma in alarm.

"Why would you deconstruct the Dragon Radar?!"

Before Bulma could angrily respond, Gohan said calmly, "I guess because we may never go back to our world, Krillin."

That put a dampen on the mood. The Huntsmen looked sadly at their new friends as they contemplated that news. Even Vegeta looked slightly somber at hearing that, though he did not show it much.

Bulma sighed once more, though there was no annoyance or exasperation in the sigh. If anything, it was slightly depressed.

"Unfortunately, Gohan's right. I don't know if we are going to ever get back to Namek, let alone Earth. And while that is depressing to think about, we have much bigger problems to deal with. So, since there are no Dragon Balls on this world, I decided to transform a useless object into something useful."

The group nodded in understanding. Bulma shouldered a small pack for the things she was going to buy and was once more about to leave with Qrow when Weiss suddenly called out behind her something that made her stop.

"Wait! I know you haven't used it yet but try this."

Bulma turned to see what Weiss was referring to. The silver haired Huntsmen knelt down to her weapon case, which had been lying a few feet away, and opened it. She rummaged inside for a second before she found what was looking for and shut the case. She stood back up and walked to Bulma and handed her a few small but brightly glinting crystals. The blue haired scientist stared down at them, her mouth slightly agape.

"This is dust," Weiss explained, "They are a sort of material that posse's energy. Over the years, humans have found a way to use them in technology and weapons. You can basically think of them as a superpowered battery."

She pointed at the ones she had given Bulma, noting the different colors.

"There are many elements of dust. From fire to ice to even pure electricity. They are recognizable by their unique color."

Bulma stared for a few more seconds at the dust. Then she gripped them tightly and put them in a small but secure slot on her backpack. Then she turned back to Weiss and smiled genuinely.

"Thanks, Weiss. This is going to be a great help with Relic Radar. To be completely honest, I was missing a component that could be used as a relatable energy signature to the Relics. If I can modify these a little bit, I could use them to only sense out the Relics."

Weiss looked at her, totally lost.

"But… how?!"

Bulma winked at her.

"A genius can't give away all her secrets. Anyway, me and Qrow should be going. At this rate, it will be evening by the time we leave," she looked around the group and waved cheerfully, "Good luck with your training. I am counting on you to kick some serious butt soon. Oh, and behave Vegeta!"

She added the last part, glaring at the Prince's back. He turned around sharply, glowering right back at her.

"Aren't you supposed to be somewhere right now?!"

Bulma sniggered a little. She turned around and followed Qrow out of the patio. As soon as the door shut behind them, Goku clapped his hands excitedly.

"Alright everyone, break time is officially over! Who's ready to do some more training?"

None of the Huntsmen responded, glancing at each other nervously. After barely surviving the first session, none of them were fully eager to jump back in. But they also knew what was at stake for them.

"Good luck with your training. I am counting on you to kick some serious butt soon."

Bulma's words played in their minds. Those words were not just idle words of encouragement. They were the real deal.

The Huntsmen exchanged determined glances before looking back at Goku and giving a powerful cheer. The instructors nodded at the reception, small proud grins forming. Even the proud Prince of all Saiyan's took the cheer as a sign of change.

* * *

In the dense woods of Anima, near the kingdom of Mistral, very little moved. Few animals trotted about and even fewer people were walking about, hunting or foraging.

But there was one group of people. They were smack dab in the middle of woods. However, they were neither hunting, foraging or even hiking for that matter. They were training.

Three of them were faunus, darting about the woods, using the trees as foot holds and jump pads to launch themselves at their sparring partner, a creature unknown to Remnant. A Namekian.

"Sloppy execution," Piccolo state flatly as he easily blocked a machete strike from Blake after she had run up a tree and down an acrobatic backflip of it toward him. The cat faunus grit her teeth as another attack fell to nothing. Then, too late, she realized that her moment of frustration had cost her valuable time. Piccolo swiped at her, catching her stomach and sent her sprawling a few yards where she lay, panting while trying to make sure her aura wouldn't shatter.

"Defenses must always be up, Blake," Piccolo barked, "If you can't dodge, the least you can do is block!"  
Suddenly he leapt up from the ground as Sun and Ilia charged from behind him, lunging forward. Now, startled and scared, they looked around desperately. But they were far too slow.

Piccolo landed between them delivered two powerful punches on either side of him, catching the faunus's hard and sending them flying into nearby trees.

"Do you really think attacks like that will faze anyone?" Piccolo growled as they slid down the trees and tried to stagger to their feet, "If you are going to work as one unit, then do it properly!"

The three faunus got to their feet, panting hard, feeling that their auras were near the limit. That was unsurprising though. They had been doing this regime for about two hours now and with the non-stop attacking and counters from Piccolo, they were getting no less exhausted and hurt.

As Blake caught her breath and began for another assault, Piccolo suddenly straightened up and turned away.

"That will do for now," he said calmly.

That took the three faunus by surprise. Mainly due to the fact that it had been so short. The night before had been the first training session and Piccolo had pushed them to the brink for almost eight hours. It had been early morning by the time they had finished.

Now, only about seven hours later, after waking up and walking a few miles, they had been forced to train once more. But now it seemed that their Namekian trainer was having second thoughts about taking so much training them instead of getting to Gohan.

"That's it?" Blake asked testily. Despite the fact that she was already very tired, and her body ached for a break, she was also quite annoyed. She had dedicated herself to this training and even last night's grueling training, where she had gone to sleep thinking she had suffered permanent damage, she had been very grateful for the opportunity. So, to hear that they were stopping after only two hours of training really got her blood boiling.

She wasn't the only one either. Sun and Ilia frowned at Piccolo, the former saying, "What's the big idea? Do you think that we can't handle more after we almost died at yesterday's session."

Piccolo scowled at them.

"Listen to me, I want to get to Gohan as quickly as possible while also providing you with a sufficient amount of training. And regarding yesterday," he paused, and they saw a small smile touch his lips, "You did quite well. You were supposed to feel like death."

Sun blinked, taken aback by the sudden compliment. Beside him, Blake and Ilia were just surprised. However, the latter recovered quickly.

"Be that as it may, barely two hours of training is insulting to us. I get you want to get to Gohan, I really do. But you're beginning to prioritize."

To their shock, Piccolo actually began chuckling. He continued to do so for a few seconds, effectively silencing the faunus. Eventually he said, "I think you have misunderstood me. I said we were done with sparring training. Not training in general."

He smirked at their faces.

"Did you really think we were done? Overnight, I devised an exercise you can do while on the move."

"While on the move?" Blake asked, her annoyance giving way to curiosity, "Doesn't that seem to be sort of cheap?"

Piccolo gave her a withering look. "How about you first listen to the exercise before you start insulting it. Besides, do you really think I'm going to let you off easy after what I did to you yesterday."

The three faunus flinched, feeling some of their bones twitch reflexively. That first training session had really been hellish. Blake shook her head quietly, letting Piccolo continue.

"The exercise is as follows. You three are quite acrobatic. It is easily one of your best abilities and if honed correctly, can be an incredible asset in battle. So, to improve your acrobatic abilities along with agility and strength, you will be following me up above in the trees," he pointed above him at the many branches swinging slightly with the wind," Using the trees branches, trunk and leaves to travel from tree to tree."

Sun smirked a little.

"Sounds simple enough! Are you sure this is really that hard?"

Piccolo grinned evilly and Sun immediately regretted asking his question.

"Of course," the Namekian said coolly, "There will be some rules in place. For instance, you are not allowed to touch the ground at any point until I say the exercise is over. If you drop to the ground, whether that be because your tired or because a branch snapped, I will personally send you back up into the canopy… the hard way."

They all shuddered at the mention of a "hard way." Piccolo paused, allowing them to shudder for a few seconds before continuing, "In addition, you have to stay in my line of sight. This means you have to follow a very linear path instead of using a bunch of trees that takes you off course because those trees have the best branches. Oh, and also," he suddenly added," causing the already nervous faunus to tense up, "Don't fall behind. If you are even twenty feet behind me, I'm coming over and kicking you back to the front. This means no long waiting or resting and finding the best trees before your companions."

He scanned their faces, satisfied to see them tense and worried. While he was not evil anymore, he did still kind of like the sensation of putting fear in others. Though, when that thought came into his head, he shuddered himself. It sounded too similar to something Frieza would feel.

"Anyway," he said, bringing his thoughts back to the present and his trainees, "With that said, let's go."

He then turned on his heel and began walking through the forest, going in the direction of Gohan's energy. Well, it was now more accurate to say a clump of energy. Overnight, he had suddenly sensed Gohan's and Krillin's energy mix with the likes of Goku and Vegeta. It gave the Namekian a sense of relief that Gohan was reunited with his father. With Goku, Gohan was surely to be safe. Of course, he wasn't too pleased about having Vegeta there as well, but he knew that the Prince would not do anything nefarious. Not with Frieza on the horizon.

As he began walking, he heard rustling in the trees above, signaling that his initiates had begun their training. He smiled a little as he heard the rustling of branches and whooshing of leaping bodies. He did not admit it to them, but Piccolo was taking great pleasure in training the faunus. He had not done something like this since the time he had trained Gohan on Earth and it had proven to be a life-changing experience for him. But that wasn't exactly why he was so pleased about his new trainees. It was the fact that despite everything they knew was there and the immense danger they were in, they were willing to improve and fight instead of crawl up and hide. If there was anything that Piccolo respected in the world, it was the will to never give up.

"Hmph," he said to himself quietly, "I'm beginning to sound like Goku."

That thought brought back memories. Like the time he and Goku had first fought at the martial arts tournament, a glorious battle that they both still remembered well. That had still been during the time he had been evil, ready to conquer the world like his father had done before him. But it seemed fate had led him down a path far different than his father could have ever imagined.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard Sun above cackle. He looked up to see the blonde-haired monkey faunus leaping easily from tree to tree, doing backflips and trick moves and smiling back at his two companions.

"You guys are going a bit too slow," he called out to Blake and Ilia, a little to in the moment, "I am making this exercise seem like it's nothing!"

"It's barely been ten minutes," Piccolo thought to himself, but he said nothing out loud and simply continued to walk. Above, Ilia growled angrily and made a large leap towards Sun. However, the monkey faunus simply jumped forward a bit more, canceling out Ilia's attempt to gain on him. He laughed cheerfully, seeing the exercise as a game of sorts.

Suddenly, a black pistol, connected to a thin but powerful rope, swung out of nowhere and cut through the branch Sun was perched on. He tried to recover but lost his footing completely and instead came crashing down to the ground.

"Ow!" he complained, rubbing his butt. He glanced up to see Blake retract her pistol back into her weapon. She smiled slyly at him.

"Oops, my hand slipped."

Sun was about to respond when he felt a shadow over him. He turned to see Piccolo standing over him, his arms crossed.

"Oh…," Sun mouthed, realizing suddenly what was about to happen, "Crap."

Piccolo swiftly dug his foot into his stomach, lifting him straight up into the air and into the branches. The faunus cried out in pain for a second before it was muffled by branches and leaves. Without waiting to see if he had found his footing, Piccolo continued on forward.

Forward towards his favorite pupil. And trouble.

* * *

"Oh my god."

Bulma gazed up the towering gate that led into Haven Academy. It was just a small part of the massive wall that surrounded the academy, which stood on a large plateau overlooking the city of Mistral. But even on its own, it was quite impressive.

Beside Bulma, Qrow stood quietly, either unimpressed or used to the hulking structure that was Haven. He glanced over at the sky, more concerned about the time. The sun was beginning to reach its final curve of the sky, marking the beginning of evening. He sighed a little, wondering where the time had gone.

Despite leaving at about midday, they had only now come to Haven. This was mostly due to Bulma. After consulting a map, she had argued that it would make more sense to visit the electronics store in the slums first since it was more on the way before going to the academy. At first, Qrow had argued against this plan, but he quickly saw that arguing against this blue haired scientist was not only nearly impossible, but dangerous for his health.

So, they had gone to the store and Qrow had waited for almost four hours, watching Bulma tediously look through electronic parts and listening to her mutter to herself. Eventually, she had completed her business and announced she was ready to go to Haven, but Qrow had suddenly demand that they head to the nearby tavern, claiming he needed a drink after waiting so long. Bulma had been annoyed with his attitude, but had no objections to a drink and they went to the bar. The bartender, who had once been so friendly to them, eyed them suspiciously over the counter as the drank. No doubt he was still confused about Bulma saying she was from another world. And also, the fact that the last time they had been there, a motorcycle had driven in from nowhere and demolished half the place.

During their drink, Qrow did take this chance to ask Bulma a bit about Goku and Vegeta to which she told him about all her previous adventures with Goku and how Vegeta had actually attacked Earth in pursuit of the Dragon Balls on their planet.

"Wait," Qrow said, raising his hand, "Doesn't that mean Vegeta is evil? I mean, besides explaining a lot, why are we aligning ourselves with him."

Bulma chuckled a little at that. "To be honest, I doubt he is really evil. Proud. Brutal. Infuriating. Yes, sure. But not evil. Even when he attacked Earth, I think he was just carried away and was blinded by the prospect of the Dragon Balls. Goku believes this as well. Granted, he also respects his strength and knows he is the only other Saiyan beside him."  
Qrow looked unconvinced. "That still doesn't fully explain why we are even working with him."

Bulma rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her brandy.

"Think about it this way, Qrow. We have two major enemies. An immortal witch and a planet busting tyrant who can kill all of us with a flick of his finger. That is true evil. And we need all the help we can get to fight that. Plus," she suddenly smiled a little, "Despite everything, he is kinda of cute."

Qrow choked on his drink. Bulma scowled at him as he coughed and hacked, trying to recover. Once he did, he gasped, "You're kidding right? The bastard almost killed my niece."

"To save us from being found by Frieza," Bulma countered, "Even Ruby herself justified the reason. Not to mention, if I remember correctly, which I do, he took care of your other niece for a while."

Qrow sat, unable to think of anything.

"Another round bartender," he said coldly.

Now, after another hour, they had finally made their way to Haven Academy. While it was later than he had wanted, Qrow wasn't too worried. He knew Professor Lionheart would still be in his office.

"Come on," he said to Bulma, walking forward to the gate.

It was guarded by two guards. As they approached, they eyed them and eventually came forward themselves.

"Halt!" one said, "The Academy is closed to tourists right now."

"Look buddy," Qrow said in a bored voice, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his Huntsmen license, "I'm no tourist. I have business with Professor Lionheart."

The guard examined the license for a second before nodding to his colleague who went to the edge of the gate and manned a control panel. The gate slowly opened.

"Welcome to Haven Academy, Mr. Branwen," the guard said formally, handing him back his license.

Qrow nodded curtly and he and Bulma began making their way in.

"Um, just a second."

Qrow sighed in exasperation as the guard came back over. He was looking at Bulma, narrowing his eyes. However, before he could ask, Qrow said, "She's my fiancé."

Both the guard and Bulma reddened brightly.

"Oh… uh right," the guard stuttered, "Sorry, please go on."

He scurried away, leaving the two to walk inside. Once he was out of earshot, Bulma hissed, "What the hell?! We said I would be your secretary!"

Qrow snorted.

"Ah yes. The secretary that is dressed in a sports vest, covered in oil grease and carrying a backpack full of electronic parts."

Bulma scowled deeply, though she did have to agree that the Huntsmen had a point. However, she still said angrily, "You really put me on the spot you know?"

"Oh, relax," Qrow smirked, "We both know you are into more brutal people."

Before Bulma could think of a scathing retort, they walked out onto the courtyard and her voice died away.

It was a magnificent campus for an academy. Trees lined the paths on well-kept grass. Stunning buildings dotted the courtyard as they walked by and Bulma could only guess they were dining areas and living quarters for the students that attended here. Even the ground, which Bulma usually would not pay attention to, was beautifully fitted with smooth cobblestone that did not allow any weeds to grow between the cracks. However, the star of the show was the building they were heading to. A massive oriental style building that sported a tall tower at the very top. It overlooked the entire campus and Bulma guessed that a person could see the entire city and more from the view it provided.

"This place is incredible," Bulma breathed, surprised to hear how throaty her voice was. Qrow nodded.

"Haven Academy was easily the most beautiful of the four main academies. And believe me, that is not easy to do."

Qrow's eyebrows then furrowed. Something was clearly bothering him and Bulma wasn't afraid to ask.

"Something the matter, Qrow?"

"Yeah," he said gruffly, "It's empty."

Bulma looked at him confused then she looked around again and realized what he meant. Since entering the campus, they had not seen a single person walking around.

"Maybe it's vacation?" she wondered, peeking around buildings. Qrow shook his head.

"Even if it is vacation, this place would be full of young Huntsmen. Many come during their breaks to train and get advice on missions. It's foolish not to."

He was beginning to look increasingly uneasy which was slowly being transmitted into Bulma. She suddenly shivered, the campus not looking as pretty anymore.

"Let's just get to this professor guy."

"He's actually the principle of Haven," Qrow explained, "But he also teaches classes alongside his principle duties, so he is more commonly referred to as professor."

"Fascinating," Bulma said sarcastically, "Can we just get there?"

They speed walked the rest of the distance, casting furtive glances around them. Though they reached their destination without incident and within only a few minutes, they were sweating slightly as they entered the main building.

Inside, the building was ornately decorated with vases and plants lining the walls. Beautifully crafted paintings hung over priceless artifacts and depicted scenes of happiness and sadness alike. The lamps cast a cheerful glow over the halls.

Usually, Bulma would have stopped to examine the room and appreciate its beauty. However, both she and Qrow bypassed them, feeling no more secure in here than they had outside. The main thing they noticed was not any of the decorations. It was the fact that the halls were completely empty. Not a sound was uttered.

At the end of the hall, a bunch of elevators stood. The duo raced to them as quickly as they could without actually running. Once they arrived, Qrow gently pressed the button to go up and they clambered inside the elevator. The doors shut and they breathed out a sigh of relief.

Qrow glanced around him quickly before saying, "Alright, I think we can relax now."

Bulma looked around her to, noting the corners of the elevator. Qrow saw what she was doing and said, "I already checked for cameras. There are none."

Bulma nodded before sighing deeply and leaning against the elevator wall.

"How did this get so stressful all of a sudden?"

Qrow didn't respond. He was pondering some things about the lack of people and the strange eeriness the campus now held. It was seriously beginning to unnerve him, which in times like these, a feeling like that should never be overlooked.

Bulma, wanting to make some conversation, asked, "How do we even know he is here? If the place is empty, then why would he be here?"

Qrow raised an eyebrow at her.

"Aren't you some sort of genius? If he wasn't here, the guards would have told us and the door to this building would have been locked."

Bulma reddened angrily.

"Hey! I don't think straight when I'm nervous!"

Qrow raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright, I gotcha. Anyway, when we get up there, let me do the talking. I know Professor Lionheart. He isn't a man to hide stuff. He will tell us what's going on."

"I hope you're right," was all Bulma said as the elevator shot up through the tower. It only took them a few more seconds to reach the top. A light, "ding", sounded, signaling they had made it. The doors slowly opened up into a small room with a few benches on the sides. Large double doors stood across them.

"A waiting room to an office up here?" Bulma asked.

Qrow shrugged, stepping out of the elevator and making his way straight towards the double doors, the blue haired scientist following behind him. As he reached them, Qrow raised his hand to knock when he suddenly hesitated. Something just didn't feel right.

"You might as well," Bulma said after a few moments of them standing there, "He would have probably heard the elevator. He may have even been notified by the guards we were coming."

Qrow nodded at her logic and knocked on the door. There was a short silence in which they both could feel their hearts beat hard against their chests. Then, a voice answered,

"Come in!"

Qrow and Bulma exchanged one last look. Then they opened the doors and entered Professor Lionheart's office.

It was admittedly a truly stunning office. The walls were gilded in bronze and the furniture made of the best kinds of material. An intricate carpet sat between the newcomers and the mahogany desk. The entire back wall was a window, showing a view of the city of Mistral and the mountains around it. The sun was just beginning to dip down behind one of the taller mountains, casting an orange light into the office.

Sitting behind the desk, a middle-aged man with a wild mane of tan hair wearing a well-tailored brown suit was shuffling through some papers. He glanced up as Qrow and Bulma walked in and he smiled kindly.

"Ah, Qrow Branwen," he said, his voice rich and smooth, "It has been too long I must say."

"Leo," Qrow nodded to him, using the man's first name, "It is a pleasure to see you once more."

He then gestured to Bulma. "This is my-"

"Colleague," Bulma interrupted quickly, shooting Qrow a withering look, "I work with him on some missions. I was just in the area and decided to tag along for the ride. Plus, I have always wanted to meet the headmaster of Haven Academy."

Despite her decently good improvisation, Leonardo Lionheart still looked slightly uncomfortable after she introduced herself.

"I see," he said carefully, trying not convey much behind his voice, "Well, as much it as a pleasure to meet you, I am afraid that the topics that Qrow has probably come to discuss are going to be top secret. If you could so kindly wait outside for a few moments, I promise that I will call you back in once we are done."

The fact he could be so rude while trying to sound fatherly was so jarring that Bulma was at first too shocked to respond. Thankfully, Qrow responded for her, his own voice growing hard.

"That won't be necessary, Leo. She has had her share of problems with Salem before. She is quite well informed, trust me."

Lionheart winced slightly.

"I see…," he trailed off for second and Qrow and Bulma swore they could hear him tapping his fingers under the desk, "Well, then what have you come to discuss, Qrow? What about Salem is their worth discussing?"

His tone had suddenly changed from kindly. It had become hardened, almost irritated. Qrow frowned at the shift in atmosphere.

"Before we even go into that, Leo, can I ask you something?"

For a second, it looked like Lionheart was going to tell him no. Then he breathed deeply and sat back in his chair, gesturing for Qrow to continue. The Huntsmen glanced quickly at Bulma who nodded slightly.

"Why isn't anyone here?"

Lionheart was silent for a few moments. At first, his face was dark and even slightly foreboding. Then it all cleared away and he looked down sadly.

"You see, after the attack on Beacon Academy, and I mean the first one by the way. I am sure you have heard what happened recently with Vale."

Qrow sighed. "Yes, I am aware. Please continue."

"Anyway, after the White Fang and Cinder Fall attacked Beacon, a horde of Grimm attacked Mistral. We were able to fend them off, but due to the amount of stress that arose, I decided to suspend all the teachers and students for a time being, so they could recover and allow me to think over matters."

Qrow stared at Lionheart for a second, his face slackening. Disbelief came into his eyes. Bulma noticed this and glanced at him with concern.

"Uh, Qrow? You-"

Suddenly, Qrow lunged forward and slammed fist on the desk. The force caused the mahogany to reverberate and shake the materials laying on the desk. It also caused the Haven Academy headmaster to jump back in shock.

"Are you insane?!" Qrow yelled angrily, "Do you realize what you have effectively done? You have left the Relic under this academy completely unguarded!"

A heavy silence filled the air. Lionheart struggled to straighten himself, and his chair for that matter, and face Qrow once more. Bulma noticed that the principle was beginning to sweat slightly.

"Now see here, Qrow," he began, trying his best to sound strong and confident, "The Relic is still guarded by me and my trusted guards. Besides, you have to remember the Spring Maiden, the Maiden that opens the lock guarding the Relic here, is nowhere to be found. We still do not know who and where she is."

Qrow tensed up at that. He balled up his hands into tight fists.

Lionheart sat back in his chair, seemingly satisfied with himself.

"Anyway, now with that sorted, why don't you tell me why you have come here."

Qrow did not say anything, something obviously going through his mind. Something that did not please him one bit. Beside him, Bulma wanted to ask him what was wrong, but she also needed to keep this conversation going.

"Well, Professor Lionheart," she said, using her kindest tone, "We have actually come here to ask for your assistance in the fight against Salem and her forces."

She neglected to mention Frieza for the moment. Something told her bringing up the mad tyrant right now was not the best idea.

Lionheart twitched at her statement. Bulma could see he was beyond uncomfortable, but it also seemed like something else was going. She realized that in his eyes, she could see nothing but pure fear.

"So, is that it?" he said, his voice trembling with forced calm, "Well, as much as I would love to be of assistance, I have already said that my Huntsmen have been dismissed for the time being. I do not have much in terms of firepower to offer you and honestly," he lowered his voice and leaned in closely, "Salem may not even be the worst of our worries."

Bulma's eyes widened slightly. Did he really know about Frieza? Before she could do anything though, Qrow suddenly spoke, his voice deadly calm.

"You listen to me, Leo. I don't want to hear this crap about not having the firepower. If we had wanted that, we would have gone to Atlas. But we need support, especially now. You just said it yourself. There is someone far worse than Salem out there. Far, far worse than her."

He stopped for a second, glancing up to see the scared look on Lionheart's face.

"Now, you have been and old friend of Ozpin's for a while. Obviously, he isn't here right now, but he would want you and all of us to continue the fight. So, listen to me very carefully. Stop being a coward and stop being a moron and help us for god's sake!"

Qrow glared at the principle, his eyes dark and sunken. Even Bulma was slightly afraid of the look he had. But she did agree with what he was saying. So far, the only impression she has received from Lionheart was a whole bunch of cowardice.

Lionheart stared into Qrow's face for a second, his own face white and flaky. He stuttered something before stopping and composing himself. He sat up in his chair, pulled himself towards the desk and coughed into his hand. Then he looked back up at Qrow, his face changing from fear to sadness.

"You are right, Qrow. Everything you said is true. However, I haven't been fully honest with you. I did not dismiss all my Huntsmen. I have sent some of my best to search for the Maiden's around the globe. Yet, with no clues we have had no luck whatsoever," he actually chuckled slightly, "It has been quite demoralizing. And now with news about Beacon being obliterated and the White Fang being taken over by someone and somehow getting through Atlas military, I have started to lose faith in Ozpin's old plan."

He buried his head in his hands. One the other side of the desk, Qrow and Bulma watched him, for once not thinking his actions cowardly. Thinking so would be hypocritical. Just yesterday, they believed the same thing.

"Look, Leo," Qrow finally spoke after a few seconds of silence, his voice calmer, "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I wasn't being fair. I can now see you are still trying. As an apology," he paused and Bulma glanced over at him, curious what he was going to say.

"I will give what I believe to be the location of the Spring Maiden."

Both Lionheart and Bulma stared at him in shock. The latter tried to say something, wondering just where this bombshell came from. But, Qrow quickly gave her a look that conveyed a clear message.

"Later."

Lionheart sat up once more, his sadness fading away.

"Are you serious, Qrow?"

Qrow nodded solemnly. Lionheart broke into a wide smile and took out a small keyboard from under his desk.

"Well, I would be delighted to hear it! I have been waiting for a lucky break."

Qrow clenched his fists tightly. Whatever he wanted to say was clearly difficult. But he let out a deep sigh and said, "I believe that the Spring Maiden is with my sister."

Lionheart froze. He looked up at him, making sure he had heard right.

"Your sister? You mean… Raven Branwen?"

Qrow nodded. "I believe that Raven has had the Spring Maiden in her tribe for quite a while."

Lionheart typed a few things into his keyboard. Then he glanced up once more at Qrow, looking confused.

"Wait, what evidence do you have to back this up."

"Evidence isn't the right word," Qrow said slowly, "I just have a hunch. If I remember correctly, the last we knew about the Spring Maiden before she went missing was that she had run away from her village and into the massive forest that covers Anima. I believe there is a possibility that she was picked up by a bandit tribe. Raven's to be specific."

Lionheart looked at Qrow for a few more seconds. Then he sighed and typed a few things on his keyboard before setting it aside.

"That's not much to go on, but it does at least give us somewhere to search," he leaned back in his chair and smiled kindly at the two before him, "I would like to apologize to both of you for my behavior today. I have been a little high strung lately."

"We have all been," Qrow said, smiling as well, "Well, I will leave you to it, Leo. Contact me if something comes up."

Then he turned on his heel and headed out, Bulma nodding once to Lionheart before following him out. Once they left the office and entered the elevator and head down, she burst into angry questioning.

"What was all that?! Since when do you know where the Spring Maiden is?! Why haven't you told any of us about it?!"

Qrow let her get it out of her system before responding.

"I have suspected it for a while. I have never been able to prove it, but it is the best lead I have had. And trust me, finding Maidens was my main objective for the longest time. As for why I didn't tell you guys," he sighed, "There are a few reasons for that. One, like I said, it was only a hunch. I didn't want to go crazy over a hunch. Second, we have all just gotten here and leaving to chase a hunch seems foolhardy. Third and most importantly, we have much more important things to think about."

"More important than the location of one of the only people that could help us in our fight against Salem?" Bulma asked critically.

Qrow grimaced, though she did see her point.

"Look, with the kids training and the prospect of having to fight Salem, let alone that monster Frieza, I just did not want to pile on anything."

There was a short silence except for the low hum of the elevator riding downward. Then Bulma sighed and gave Qrow a small smile.

"Well, I guess your intentions were good. But then what's the plan now? We got Lionheart to 'kinda' give us support. But it I don't see how it really helps us."

"Yeah," Qrow agreed gruffly, "Not to mention that entire meeting seemed really off to me. I have known Lionheart and he may be a bit timid and clumsy at times, but the things he has done here are downright idiotic. And how he acted the whole time…,"

He did not need to finish. They were both thinking the same thing. Something was not right with Lionheart.

"We should get back to the apartment," Bulma said as the doors opened, "We need to tell the others about our meeting, including the part about the Maiden," she looked pointedly at the Huntsmen and he waved his hand acknowledgment.

"Alright, alright I gotcha," he said, slightly annoyed, "I kinda wish we could stop by a bar first."  
They walked out onto the beautiful campus and as they made their way towards the gate, Bulma thought of something.

"I was just wondering," she said, "When you talked about how you guys had to follow Ozpin and all that, how much did you want to punch the wall?"

He scowled deeply and Bulma sniggered at the response.

"Just shut up," he said, marching out the gates of Haven and back into the city of Mistral.

* * *

Back in his office, Lionheart listened for the elevator to go down completely. When he was sure his guests had left the building, he gave a deep sigh of relief and sat back in his chair.

"My, my Professor," a voice spoke from the corner of his room, startling the old principle, "You must get better at improvising."

Lionheart twisted quickly to see who it was. Out from the shadows stepped out a well-dressed man with a well-groomed mustache. The man smiled kindly at Lionheart, though the smile seemed to be somewhat malicious.

"Oh, it's you," Lionheart said, recovering from his initial shock, "Dr. Watts."

Arthur Watts, henchmen to Salem, chuckled slightly.

"No need for formalities, Leo. Just Watts will do. But that's not important," Watts came to Lionheart's desk and looked at the notes the headmaster had typed down, "What is, however, is what he have heard from our guest."

Lionheart gulped slightly, looking absolutely terrified. But he pushed the notes to Watts nonetheless.

"It seems he has a hunch about where the Spring Maiden is," Lionheart explained as Watts read over the notes, "He believes her to be with his sister, Raven Branwen."

Watts tutted disapprovingly.

"That woman is trouble. But, if that is our only lead to the Maiden, then it seems we really have no choice."

He stood up and grinned down at Lionheart. "You have done well for your new mistress, Leo. She will be very happy with this info. I suspect we will be on our way to the tribe soon enough after this talk. Of course, that is if none of your Huntsmen 'search parties' find it first."

He let out a bark of laughter, walking away from Lionheart, leaving the headmaster in a sense of relief and deep guilt.

* * *

Lord Frieza watched as the last of the soldiers fell to the ground. He sipped his wine calmly, glancing around the throne room, seeing the bodies everywhere and the blood splattered on the floor and walls.

In the center of it all, two people stood, panting heavily and covered in blood themselves. Captain Ginyu and Adam Taurus looked around themselves, making sure that everyone had been defeated. Once they had made sure, they relaxed slightly.

Their training session had been brutal to say the least. Frieza would send in a group of about seventy to a hundred soldiers every time they were done with the last group. This last one had been especially hard, though Frieza had said beforehand that it was the last group, giving the trainees some motivation to get through.

Now, the session finally over, Captain Ginyu looked over at himself, slowly smiling with satisfaction. He seemed very pleased with the results of the training, which despite it just finishing, were already beginning to affect his strength. Training as brutal as this does that.

As for Adam, he did feel the improvement already coursing through him. This should have made him happy, jubilant even. However, as he stood, surrounded by the bodies and blood of his former White Fang soldiers, he could only feel guilty. Some of those people had followed him loyally back in the day. And he had hacked them down for a training exercise.

His mind was brought back to reality as Frieza stood from his throne, setting aside his wine glass. He looked down at the two of them for a second, his face hard and cold. Then he smiled and began clapping. A mocking slow clap.

"Well done," he said, "Honestly, I must say that I am impressed by the both of you. Your training has already borne fruit. You do have my honest compliments."

He stopped clapping and approached them, every step he took radiating confidence and evil. He barely glanced at the bodies as he passed by, kicking away a few that were in his way.

He stopped before them, inspecting them both closely. Adam shivered uncontrollably as those piercing red eyes looked over him. Then the lord turned away and waved them off.

"Clean up this mess. Then you are dismissed."

He started to walk away but stopped when Adam asked, "Wait, what about comments? How do we know what to improve on?"

Frieza glanced back at him, his mouth twisting into a ruthless grin.

"Do you really believe I have time to tell you all the things you need to work on boy? You must figure that out for yourself," he chuckled a little, turning away once more, "Foolish boy."

Despite the fear going through him, Adam felt a white-hot pang of anger. He had just massacred a bunch of his former comrades for the sake of training. Now, the monster that had forced him to do so would not even give him basic advice.

He almost forgot himself and stepped forward when he was hit over the head with a wooden object. After the grueling training, his aura was spent and as a result, did not dull the blow at all.

"Ow! What the hell," he looked over to his side angrily to see Captain Ginyu holding two mops, one of them towards Adam.

"You heard Lord Frieza," he said gruffly, "Get cleaning boy!"

Adam snarled angrily, snatching the mop from Ginyu. Then they got started on cleaning the blood from the floor, making sure to carry aside any bodies to the side to be taken out later. Adam had to hold himself back from vomiting every time he did so. Though he did not dare do anything under the ever-watchful gaze of Frieza.

Speaking of the tyrant, he sipped his wine thoughtfully as he watched his two generals clean. He thought about what Adam had said for a second and for once, he decided to listen to the foolish brat. Besides, it was boring just watching them clean.

"You need to aim for the fatal spots more boy."

Adam looked up from his work, confusion on his face.

"Pardon me, my lord?"

"You have great skill with that weapon of yours," Frieza gestured to the katana on Adam's waist, "You are able to use it with impressive precision and speed. However, you take too long to dispatch of your enemy. I saw you first aimed for less fatal spots before going for the killing blow. Of course," here Frieza sneered cruelly, "That may be because they used to be your friends."

Adam gulped, sweating slightly. Unfortunately, Frieza was right on the money with that guess. But he knew he could not admit it.

"I was making sure to disarm them and disable them, so they could not give me any trouble once I dispatch of them, my lord," he responded, hoping his voice was calm and collected.

Frieza considered this remark. For a second, Adam thought he had actually convinced the tyrant. Then Frieza just smirked.

"As much as I appreciate torture, when in a serious fight, you must take out your opponent quickly sometimes. Using those quick moves of yours to not kill them swiftly is both a waste of time and beyond idiotic."

He lapsed into silence, drinking his wine. It seemed he was done giving criticism and instead preferred the silence. But what he said brought up a burning question in Adam.

"If I may ask, my lord," he said politely as he could, "Have you ever been in a serious fight before? Have you ever needed to train for a fight?"

Beside him, Ginyu snarled at him.

"Learn your place boy! You have such nerve to ask such things of Lord Frieza!"

For once, Adam ignored Hazel's impersonator and stared up at Frieza, more confidently then he thought possible. The galactic overlord drained his wine glass, his cold eyes fixed on Adam. Once finished, he put aside the glass and, for a second, he was silent.

Then he began laughing. A laugh that was so cold and evil that it immediately dispelled any confidence Adam had. It was a laugh that he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life. It was a laugh that promised death and despair to all.

"You are a cheeky little boy, aren't you?" Frieza said once his laughing died down, though his cruel sneer was firmly in place, "You have grown bolder over the past few days. I must admit, I am genuinely impressed in that. Though of course," he raised his finger slowly and pointed it at Adam, "It will get you killed."

Adam stumbled back, all his confidence now down the drain. He stared at the finger, watching as energy began to form at the tip. He closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the pain to come.

However, it didn't come. After a few more seconds, Adam looked up to see Frieza lowering his hand, smirking down at him.

"Now that's the scared little boy I know," he said coolly, "Cowering at my feet."

Ginyu did a pose nearby, smiling up at his master.

"That's the spirit Lord Frieza! I can't thank you enough for disciplining my new recruit!"

Adam was still was so scared, he didn't even say anything to Ginyu regarding that comment. He just stared up at Frieza, imagining that at any moment, that arm would point at him once more and end his life.

However, it did not come. Instead, Frieza sat back in his throne, still smiling.

"While I absolutely do not tolerate such behavior from my subordinates, I do respect your courage to ask boy. In recognition of this respect, I will do you the honor of answering your questions."

Ginyu faltered slightly.

"My lord," he said, his voice almost pleading, "You should not stoop so low and tell this maggot anything!"

Frieza suddenly turned to look at the Captain, his eyes burning with anger.

"Are you telling me what to do, Captain Ginyu?" he asked dangerously.

Ginyu instantly fell silent, bowing his head quickly. Frieza gazed at him for a few seconds. Then he turned back to Adam and his icy eyes conveyed a look of absolute malice.

"To answer you boy, I have never fought an enemy that has given me trouble. The only people to ever kick dust on me were my parents and they were hardly my enemies. As for training," here he stood up and crouched down slightly. Below them, the ground began shaking. Adam and Ginyu stumbled as pieces of the throne room floor began cracking away and floating into the air. The corpses littering the ground rose as well, floating lifelessly. The surrounding walls shook dangerously, cracks beginning to web through.

Frieza laughed maniacally and let forth a burst of energy so great, it threw both Ginyu and Adam to the floor and caused several of the walls to buckle. The shockwaves of his power spread across the room, the army preparing outside and the entirety of Remnant itself.

* * *

Tai was watering his begonias in the garden, humming a nice tune to himself as he did so. A sudden creaking caught his attention. He looked up just in time to see the roof of his house collapse inward. He staggered to his feet and it was then he felt the shockwaves in the ground.

"An earthquake?!" he yelled in confusion. But even as it began to fade, he had a strong feeling he knew it was no earthquake.

"Please god," he whispered to himself, "Let Ruby and Yang be safe."

* * *

Raven was sitting in her tent, flexing her hands. She had many things on her mind, from her daughter going to a quest she could not win to the target she had over her own head.

"The Spring Maiden," she whispered to herself.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted when the tent shook and nearly collapsed on top of her. She started to her feet, her hand reaching for her weapons. Outside, she heard the screams of her tribes' people as the tremors continued on. Raven quickly headed to the entrance of the tent and almost ran head first into Vernal who had come to see if her chieftain was okay.

"What's going on?!" Raven asked, gripping Vernal by the shoulders, trying to calm the frightened girl.

"I don't know!" Vernal spluttered, "But the ground just started shaking! I think it's an earthquake!"

Just then, the ground began to settle. Screaming subsided into panting and gasping. Raven exited her tent, Vernal following close behind. Much of the tribe was thankfully still intact. As far as Raven could see, the only major damages were the collapse of a few tents and a small portion of the wall.

Her tribe congregated before, awaiting orders. She set her jaw, knowing she needed to be a leader right now. She could worry afterward.

"Scouts!" she yelled, "Go check around the tribe for any more damages and for any incoming Grimm. They may have sensed our moment of panic."

A group of men and woman nodded and headed off.

"Builders, go assess the current damages and start rebuilding that wall!"

Another group nodded and went off.

"The rest of you, tend to any of the wounded and check our supplies!"

Everyone cried in assent and went their separate ways. Once they had fully dispersed, Raven closed her eyes and breathed heavily.

An earthquake? No. Somehow, she knew that this was no earthquake.

"I can't believe they were telling the truth," she whispered, "We are all going to die."

* * *

In the darkest realm of Remnant, Salem sat at her desk, using a Seer to communicate with Arthur Watts and hear his report on what Lionheart had gleaned from his guests. Hearing good news for once was very refreshing for the dark sorceress.

"This is all quite useful," she said after Watts concluded his report, "I shall soon dispatch a team to the Branwen tribe. Watts, if I could ask you to meet them there as well."

Watts bowed. "Of course, my lady."

Suddenly, a tremor rose from the ground. It quickly grew stronger, causing Salem to grip the table and the Seer's connection to Watts fade in and out.

Just as she was about to demand what was going on, the shaking stopped as soon as it had started. She straightened herself, seeing Watts doing the same and adjusting the Seer on his side.

"My lady!" he cried out, "Are you alright?"

Salem waved her hand dismissively. "Perfectly fine. But what was that?"

Just then, the doors to the room burst open. Cinder, Mercury, Emerald and Tyrion spilled in, a mixture of panic and anger on their faces.

"My queen!" Tyrion began, "Are you-"

"YES, I'M FINE THANK YOU!" Salem shouted, frustration building quickly. The newcomers settled down, making sure not to say anything else.

Salem closed her eyes and thought. Unfortunately, it did not take long for her to have an idea about what the shaking was.

"Frieza…"

The name echoed about the room and the occupants all tensed up.

"I don't know what he did," Salem continued, "But this is his doing. That power…,"

She paused once more, her face becoming even paler than it already was. She did not need to finish her thought. Everyone else knew that what they had felt was a power beyond what they could imagine.

* * *

"Just a few more minutes and we will stop."

Piccolo called this out, waiting for a response. His trainees gave him tired words of assent from the tree tops. They had been doing the tree hopping exercise now for more than half a day and the sun was now beginning to set. Despite their natural abilities, they were almost at the end of their tether, falling down more frequently only to be kicked back up by Piccolo.

As they continued on, Piccolo suddenly felt something that made him freeze. It was an energy signature that quickly rose higher and higher. Just then, the ground beneath him began shaking, causing the trees above to start moving about.

"Ah crap!" Sun yelped as the shaking made him lose his footing. He fell to the ground, followed shortly by Blake and Ilia who had been just as put off by the shaking. Piccolo barely paid attention to that. He was hunched over, shaking at the sheer magnitude of energy he was feeling. Before he could say or do anything, however, the shaking subsided and the energy began to decrease, though not to a point that it was unnoticeable. Frieza's energy was never unnoticeable.

"What was that?" Ilia asked, picking herself up from the ground and rubbing her back, "An earthquake of sorts?"

"No," Piccolo said quietly, "It was no earthquake."

Sun raised an eyebrow. "What could it be then?"

Blake than gasped. They looked at her and saw that her eyes were clouded with fear. Piccolo read her mind and nodded.

"It's Frieza," he confirmed, "Though I believe he didn't actually do anything. He just flexed his power for a few seconds. I can't tell why but it was enough to momentarily shake the entire world."

They stared at him, mouths agape.

"That's… impossible," Ilia breathed, "That's unreal."

"Yes," Piccolo agreed, "Unfortunately, it is very real. And our true enemy."

* * *

Qrow and Bulma were walking down the streets of Mistral city, on their way back to the apartment. They had not spoken much, thinking mostly about their talk with Lionheart and all the strange signs they had received.

They had both agreed that there had been something obviously wrong and that telling the others was of the upmost importance. Whatever was going on could have an impact on the quest.

They were just turning down another street, considering the possibilities when they heard screaming.

"What?!" Qrow and Bulma whirled around to try and locate the source. But before they could do anything, they suddenly felt the ground beneath them shake, almost making them lose their balance. Around them, screams erupted as people in their apartments began panicking. Sounds of breaking china resounded everywhere as dishes and vases fell.

Then it all stopped. The shaking slowed to a halt and left the residents of Mistral shocked and scared. People came out of their homes to look around, asking each other what had happened. Meanwhile, Qrow and Bulma were standing frozen in place, still recovering from the event. It was Qrow that finally snapped out of it first. Grabbing Bulma's arm he began dragging her along at a quick pace.

"We need to get to the others now!" he said before she could complain, "I need to know that what just happened isn't what I think it is. Or I guess I should say 'who'."

Bulma did not respond. She understood all too well who he was referring to.

* * *

"Your blocking is already getting better!"

Goku smiled happily at Ruby as he threw a relatively weak but quick punch at her, which she blocked with her scythe.

The second session of training was beginning to wind down to a close and while all the young Huntsmen were once again at the point of near collapse, they were actually beginning to enjoy themselves a bit. Even the people paired up with Vegeta, Yang and Weiss, were not complaining about the training despite it still being decently brutal. Though, Vegeta had admittedly made the exercise less brutal than before, even if it was clear he wasn't happy about it.

All of a sudden, the four instructors froze in place. The trainees glanced at them curiously. They saw their faces tense and to their surprise, a small bit of fear show.

The reason became somewhat clear when the patio suddenly shook violently along with the rest of the world. The teens staggered, some even falling to the ground. The instructors barely moved, but their faces only became harder and more fearful as the shaking continued.

It only lasted a few seconds, but to everyone on the patio, it felt like an eternity. Once it did settle down and they had found their footing once more, the young Huntsmen looked at their powerful trainers, scared to know what had just happened. It was Jaune who finally asked the question.

"Was that him?"

The human, half-human half-Saiyan, and two Saiyan's nodded.

"He just powered up all of a sudden," Krillin croaked, "It's faded back to what his usual energy level is like when he isn't doing anything, but just think about that. That was just because he powered up."

"Wait," Ruby asked, he face slackening, "Did he transform?"

"No I don't think so," Vegeta said, his voice strangely hoarse, "He is still in his first form. But for some reason, he decided to raise his power level."

"Maybe to remind us he is still out there," Gohan wondered quietly.

Goku said nothing. His face was tense, and his fists balled up tight. For once, the Saiyan did not seem to be excited about facing off against an opponent.

* * *

In the throne room, Adam and Ginyu stared wide eyed as Frieza relaxed and let his energy drop back down to normal. Around them, the chunks of floor and bodies that had risen into the air fell back down. An eerie and frightening silence then followed.

Frieza looked up at them, his smirk brimming with evil delight.

"To answer your question boy," he said, "That is why I do not need to train."

There was no reason to explain why. The feeling of jelly roiling in his stomach was enough for Adam. The power he had just bared witness was god like. There was nothing that could oppose it.

Satisfied with his performance, Frieza walked away from the throne and headed towards a side door that would lead him outside. Before he left, he turned to his two subordinates and calmly ordered, "Finish up cleaning the room. And make sure the floor is sealed and the walls rebuilt. If I come back and find them unstable, I will be adding a few new heads to my wall."

With that he left the two stunned minions behind, cackling madly to himself and feeling his own power surge through him.

* * *

"Dammit!" Vegeta slammed the dining table angrily, spilling a few drinks.

They had finished up training shortly after Frieza's show of power. It had been hard to continue afterward. Krillin, who had been training the Huntsmen with image training was too distracted to even meditate properly.

Now they were inside the apartment. The exhausted Huntsmen were in the living room, resting and nursing their tired bones. Goku had actually not allowed Dende to heal them afterward this time, claiming that their aura needed to practice regenerating. Dende himself had gone to bed early, the power surge earlier having really affected him.

In the dining room, the instructors sat around the table, looking glum and, in Vegeta's case, very angry.

"Calm down, Vegeta," Goku said, though his voice was quieter than usual, "This doesn't change anything."

Vegeta snorted derisively

"This changes a lot, Kakarot! I did not expect his first form to be that powerful!"

Krillin nodded.

"I have to agree with Vegeta here. What we have just sensed is more than we were expecting."

Goku looked around the table. He saw sad and angry faces staring back at him. But he also saw something else. Fear.

He stood up, mustering all the confidence he had.

"Look guys," he said, his voice harder than usual, "We just have to continue on forward. The kids have done incredibly on their first day. This second session already had massive improvements from this morning's session. At this rate, they will be able to stand beside us in battle!"

The looks he received weren't the most reassuring. They still looked skeptical, though it didn't seem to be about the kids. They all agreed, even Vegeta, that the young Huntsmen had done very well this session, holding up well and confidently taking on the exercises. Yet, even if they themselves become stronger, there was little they could do against Frieza. Besides, they themselves were already outclassed by the monster. And he was only in his first form.

Just then, Ruby entered the dining room. She had been trying to sneak to the kitchen and steal some cookies. However, when she saw the expressions of her new friends, she forgot about her mission.

"Hey," she said gently, "Is everything alright?"

Vegeta grunted impatiently.

"Of course not! Now, what do you want?"

Ruby ignored his angry comments and sighed.

"You know, even if Frieza proves himself far beyond the reaches of imagination, we will still fight. We have all committed. At this point, he will take the world over and even if we can't stop him, he can try."

She looked around the table, her determined eyes scanning each person. They nodded slowly, though their faces still conveyed doubt. Finally, Gohan smiled at her.

"That's a good attitude, Ruby," he said gently, "Hopefully, we will find a way to stop him."

There was a short silence. The Ruby grabbed a nearby chair and sat with them, smiling at them.

"Can you guys tell me something?" she asked.

They all murmured, telling her to go on.

"Could you tell me about some of your special abilities or moves?" she said, a small glint of excitement coming in her eyes, "I mean, since you guys have been unable to use your full power, we haven't been able to see them. And we all know you have them!"

They all looked at her, slightly shocked by the request. However, they soon lightened up a little, deciding to use this to take their minds off of other, less pleasant, topics. Goku smiled and opted to go first.

"Well, my main techniques are the KameHameHa, the Kaio-Ken, and the Spirit Bomb. The first is a massive Ki blast that I have mastered thanks to my old master. Krillin and Gohan here know how to use it to," he gestured to them and they nodded, "The Kaio-Ken and Spirit Bomb I learned from a god called King Kai when I was dead. The Kaio-Ken is a sort of power boost I can use during battle to give me the edge. However, it puts heavy strain on the body the more you boost with it, the more likely your likely to just run out in general. Finally, the Spirit Bomb is something I have only ever used once, and I missed," he shifted his glance over to Vegeta who smirked back at him, "It takes time to charge up, but it basically gathers the energy of the world. The trees, mountains, rivers and even people. The resulting energy is beyond powerful. It should only be used in emergencies."

Ruby nodded, barely being able to fathom an attack that includes the world's entire energy. She turned next to Gohan who smiled a little in embarrassment.

"I don't have many special techniques like my father. I have only recently learned how to use the KameHameHa. However, besides that, the only special attack I sometimes use is my Masanko beam. I use it when I really need to pack a punch into my opponent."

He smiled a little, seeing Ruby's eager expression.

"That's it really, Ruby. But, Krillin has a few great techniques he can share with you!"

The monk rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, especially when Ruby's excited face turned to him. She was really beginning to enjoy listening to these cool and awe-inspiring attacks.

"Well, besides the KameHameHa, I can use my Kienzan or Destructo Disc if you prefer. It's basically a Ki blast in the shape of a circular saw that cuts through nearly anything! Along with this, and Goku seemed to forget to mention that he can use it as well, I know a technique known as the Solar Flare."

Ruby leaned forward, her eyes positively sparkling. At the doorway of the dining room, the other Huntsmen had come wondering where Ruby had disappeared to. Goku gestured for them to join them.

"Ooh," Ruby cooed, "The Solar Flare! That must be like an ultimate attack!"

To her surprise, Goku and Krillin began laughing. She pouted, looking between the two.

"Sorry," Krillin said, forcing himself to speak, "Wasn't laughing at you, Ruby. It's just the Solar Flare doesn't do damage. It uses the sun's rays to blind enemies. Usually used for a quick getaway."

Vegeta snorted at this. He glanced at Goku, sneering cruelly.

"God, Kakarot. If I knew a move like that, I would be a disgrace to my Saiyan race."

Goku shrugged. "It's been quite useful in the past. Sometimes you need to get out of a fight quickly for one reason or another. I'm sure you understand that much, Vegeta."

The kindly Saiyan actually smirked a little at the Prince, who snarled and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms.

"Finally," Krillin continued, bringing the attention back on him, "I have a move I like to call the Scatter Shot. I basically fire a bunch of Ki blasts up in the air and then will them to aim at multiple targets."

Ren nodded, looking impressed. "A useful strategy. That could always become helpful."

Krillin nodded, sitting back and smiling at the group.

"And those are my main specialties."

With that, everyone shifted their glance to the last person. It took a second for Vegeta to realize they were all staring and another few seconds to realize why. He groaned in annoyance and at first, it seemed like he was going to downright refuse. But then, he relented and straightened up.

"I usually have no need for my special moves. By then, my enemies are either dead or too injured to do anything. But, if someone more powerful than usual comes around," here is eyes shifted for a second to look at Goku, "Then I have some techniques I like to use to make sure they understand who is on top. I will only mention two because I find this conversation bothersome, so feel honored!"

Despite mixed feelings about the Prince, everyone leaned in slightly, wondering just what the proud warrior had to share.

"My signature attack at the moment is something I like to call the Galick Gun. An almighty Ki blast that can annihilate planets."

Goku snapped his fingers as if remembering something.

"Oh! That must be the attack you used on Earth against me and I had to use a Kaio-Ken boost times four and the KameHameHa to fight it off. Now that was a real struggle!"

Vegeta grimaced, the memory obviously very painful for him.

"Yes," was all he said before continuing," My other technique, which I actually cannot use anymore because of somebody and his stupid friends," he scowled in Goku's direction,

"Was I could transform into a might ape. As tall as mountains and far more powerful. However, I needed a full moon to do so and my Saiyan tail."

At the word tail, the group all stared at him in shock. It was a while before Nora said what everyone else was thinking.

"But you and Goku don't have tails."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "I know that you dolt! Kakarot's must have been cut off sometime in the past. Mine was cut off while I was fighting on Earth."

Gohan raised his hand. "Yeah, even I used to have one. But Mister Piccolo pulled it off because it was too dangerous."

Yang sniggered a little.

"I can agree with that, Gohan. I don't want to imagine a massive Vegeta ape stomping through the city."

Before the Prince could spit out any type of retort, they heard the door to the apartment open. A few seconds later, Qrow and Bulma rushed in. They both looked slightly stricken.

"Is everyone okay?" Qrow quickly asked, scanning the room and counting heads.

"We are alive, Uncle Qrow," Ruby said, smiling slightly, "Do you really think we would be in too much trouble with these guys around."

She gestured to her instructors and Qrow nodded absentmindedly.

"Alright that's great," he said quickly before turning to Goku, "Answer me this truthfully, was that shaking Frieza?"

Goku nodded. "He was flexing his power. I don't why. Maybe to show off or something. Either way, it caused ripples through the world."

"You don't have to tell me that," Qrow growled irritably, "The shaking damn near sent the entire population into a frenzy. Me and Bulma were almost hit by a few cars on the way here."

Bulma nodded. "That's not all though. We talked to Lionheart and… well it's complicated."

The two of them narrated the story to the others, taking turns on different parts. They mentioned Lionheart's clear cowardice and the bad decisions. They described his sudden compliance and despite his demeanor improving slightly when Qrow told him about the Spring Maiden, they could tell the old headmaster was hiding something.

Once finished with their tale, they looked around for opinions. For a few moments, no one spoke. Then, Oscar spoke, Ozpin's voice coming through.

"I have believed in Leonardo Lionheart for a while. He was a dear and trusted friend. What you have said does not describe the Lionheart I knew."

"Honestly," Yang said, glaring at Qrow, "I am more interested in the fact that you told him you suspected the Spring Maiden is at my mother's bandit village. Why wouldn't you tell us until now?"

Qrow sighed deeply. Bulma, who was sitting next to Neo, spoke up for him.

"We have had a lot of things to think about recently. From Frieza to training hard. At the time, it is understandable that the Spring Maiden was a little lower on the pecking order."

Yang grunted, still unconvinced. Weiss put a hand on her shoulder, glancing over at Qrow.

"I think that's fair. Besides, what were we going to do? Go back to Raven and demand for the Spring Maiden?"

That got a bit of laughter around the group.

"I suppose not," Yang relented eventually, smiling a little herself, "So what about this Lionheart guy? Do we have his support or not?"  
Qrow and Bulma exchanged uneasy looks.

"That just it," Qrow said carefully, "See, he was acting very weirdly for the entire meeting. Even after I told him a clue about the whereabouts of the Spring Maiden, he seemed desperate to kick us out."

Goku scratched his head. "That's strange. Why would he act like that?"

Ozpin shrugged. "It's not the Lionheart I remember that's for sure."

A loud grunt caught everyone's attention. They all turned to Vegeta who was looking even more serious than usual. His eyes were dark as he scowled.

"It almost sounds like the little rat has switched sides," he said quietly.

The group stirred a little, Vegeta's words washing over them. Krillin looked at the Prince quizzically.

"How can you be sure of that?"

Before Vegeta could respond, Gohan spoke up.

"Think about it, Krillin. Qrow said he was uncomfortable the entire time and told them that he did things that were beyond inadvisable. It was only when Qrow offered the information that he got much more excited," he paused, looking around the group, "I believe that he is working for someone. Unfortunately, I can only think of two people that would control the headmaster of an academy."

"Either way," Qrow said, suddenly standing up and grabbing his weapon, "We need to go back to the academy and steal the Relic! We can't let him hold it any longer."

He started towards the door but Goku stood up and blocked his path.

"Look, Qrow," he said calmly, "I get that you're worried about the Relic. But we can't go attacking the academy out of nowhere! The kids need more training and besides, we have no real evidence about Lionheart's betrayal."

Qrow snarled angrily, trying to get past the Saiyan. "I think what your son has said is evidence enough!"

Then, Weiss interjected.

"It doesn't matter if Lionheart is working with Salem or Frieza. We still can't attack because we don't have a Maiden to lead us to the Relic. All we would be doing is making a great scene and making us look like criminals."

The others murmured in agreement. Even Qrow relaxed slightly, but there was still some fire in his eyes.

"Be that as it may," he said, "I believe that we should all go to the academy soon and demand more answers. And when I say all, I mean all of us. I want to make sure we don't get jumped by enemy forces."

Goku's brow furrowed, thinking over Qrow proposal. He glanced over at Krillin, Gohan, and Vegeta, asking them a silent question. Would the Huntsmen be prepared?

Gohan shrugged, still kinda new to being a mentor. Krillin considered it carefully, closing his eyes. Vegeta, however, just looked straight back at Goku. For a second, Goku thought he had ignored him, which wouldn't have been too surprising. Then, the Prince rose up one finger.

"One day?" Goku asked.

Vegeta nodded. "At least they will be sufficiently stronger and will have more experience fighting."

Goku sighed. He really did not want to pause the training so quickly after they had started. But he knew that Qrow was right to be worried.

"Alright then," he turned to look at Qrow, "Can you give us one more day to train? While we do so, you can try to get some more info on Lionheart and plan our strategy. The day after tomorrow, we can carry it out."

Everyone turned to look at Qrow, waiting for his answer. He didn't look too pleased, clearly eager to take action now. But, as he looked around the room himself, he was surprise to see a few pleadings looks from the young Huntsmen. Including his nieces.

"They are really enjoying this training," he thought to himself. He did not know how to think of that.

"Alright then," he said eventually after a long drawn out pause, "I guess I have little choice anyway."

Ozpin stepped up beside him. "I will aid you in planning. If we want to make sure this goes off without a hitch, we will need to be careful."

Qrow looked displeased with the fact that he would have to work with Ozpin. But he said nothing and just made his out of the room and headed upstairs.

"Getting some sleep," he called down as he went, "I suggest you squirts should as well. You need to be rested for your hard days training."

After he left, Ren stretched and looked at his friends.

"He does have a point. Especially now that we have only tomorrow to train before going to Haven."

The others nodded in agreement. Weiss added in, "Definitely. I know there is no guarantee that anything will happen, but knowing our luck…"

Ruby shuddered. "Don't even say that."

They began filing out, saying goodnight to their instructors. Neo looked expectantly at Bulma but the blue haired scientist smiled and shook her head.

"You go on, Neo. I'm going to be pulling an all nighter finishing this Relic Radar. Now with a possible fight on the horizon, it is paramount I finish quickly."

Neo hesitated. She suddenly looked very cute and flustered. Bulma realized with a pang that despite this girl being a powerful fighter and former criminal, she didn't want to go to bed without her. It warmed her heart.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay and help?"

Bulma smiled kindly. She put a comforting hand on the young woman. Behind Neo, the other girls stood waiting and even they were smiling slightly at the cute exchange, despite rough past experiences with the girl.

"I will be fine. You need to get sleep. Like Qrow said, you guys need to make sure to get the most out of tomorrow. I need to count on you to save me when the fight comes."

Neo smiled back. She gripped Bulmas hand a flicker of determination appeared in her eyes.

"I promise I will protect you," she said tightly, "I won't let another person I… I loved to die."

Ruby tensed up. She remembered how Roman Torchwick, Neo's former boss, had died. Eaten by a Grimm while fighting her on top of an airship. She had never liked Roman, him being a criminal and everything. But she had still felt bad for him and even more so for Neo. She had expected the next time she would meet her, they would be fighting to the death. Thankfully, it had gone differently.

Neo stepped away from Bulma, giving her one last smile before turning and following the other girls upstairs, talking casually with them. Bulma watched them happily and at the same time, Neo's words suddenly made her feel safe. Even in these dark times.

She turned back to Goku, Krillin, Gohan, and Vegeta, who were the only ones left.

"I better get started on the Relic Radar," she said, "You guys going to bed?"

She saw them exchange looks and saw smirks form. Even Vegeta gave a small grin. It wasn't hard for Bulma to realize what they were grinning about.

"Well you guys have fun," she said, walking towards the coffee table in the living room, "But don't wake everyone up. That means you, Vegeta!"

Vegeta glowered after her. "What is that supposed to mean? Kakarot and his brats are just as loud!"

Bulma poked her head back and winked.

"Oh, I know, but unlike you, they know to avoid my bad side. Aren't I right boys?"

They nodded their heads rapidly. Vegeta just grunted at this, getting slightly impatient. Once Bulma left, he said to Goku, "What is up with that Earthling? Are they all that bossy?"

Goku chuckled a little, thinking about his wife, Chi-Chi. The thought brought a quick pang of sadness, but he quickly dismissed it. It was no good brooding over things he could not control. Besides, he knew that Chi-Chi would want him to continue on and, more importantly, make sure to protect their son.

"Really depends, Vegeta," he said, "But enough of that. I have been waiting for this time all day."

He grinned widely at the others. Gohan nodded eagerly, smiling confidently. Krillin cracked his knuckles, a smug smirk on his face. Vegeta just grunted a little, but his usual scowl was much less pronounced than usual.

"Time to train… for real."

* * *

Yang was upstairs in the girl's room, preparing for bed. Around her, the other girls were doing the same, chatting all the while. Weiss was chasing Ruby around, trying to get some of her dust crystals back. Ruby was claiming that since Weiss had shared with Bulma, she should with her as well. Weiss yelled her arguments angrily at her, but Yang could see her eyes were laughing.

Even Neo, though being a former enemy, had begun fitting in well, giggling and joking with Nora. Yang did not think she would get used to Neo quickly, but after sharing a day of backbreaking training, they had already had some good moments together. They competed with each other and tried to outdo each other in the exercises. It was a phenomenal motivator for both of them.

Yang tied her hair back. As she reached behind her, pain shot through her. She yelped, staggering slightly and letting her hair fall back down.

"Yang!" Ruby cried, going over to her, Weiss following close behind, "Are you okay?"

Yang felt her back, the pain beginning to fade. She felt nothing back there, but she hadn't expected to.

"Yeah," she said, "Just pains after training. I mean, I feel like I can fall asleep and stay that way for a year."

The girls nodded in agreement, understanding what she meant. Despite being happy, chatting and even running around, they were absolutely drained. Their aura had still not begun to recover, and their muscles were still aching in certain places. A few of them had nasty bruises after being countered against. A long night of sleep was what they were all looking forward to.

Their silent moment was suddenly interrupted by a loud CRACK coming from outside. They all went to the window, which showed a view of Mistral City and, right below them, their patio. When they looked down and saw what was happening, they gasped.

Krillin and Gohan were sparring each other, sprinting at each other and exchanging fierce blows before backing off and jumping about a bit, almost too fast to register. Every time they collided, a low sound reverberated from the impact. Their faces were grim and determined, but at the same time they seemed neither angry or annoyed. They were in their element, training to become stronger.

However, despite those two being impressive on their own, it was the other two that had really caught everyone's attention. Goku and Vegeta were barely recognizable as they zipped about the patio, their speed making them only look like flickering blurs. Sometimes, the blurs would collide together for a split second, letting out a loud impact before separating once more. The loud CRACK that had grabbed the attention of the girls had been the result of an especially powerful impact. The two had jumped straight towards each other and collided arms. Now they stood there, arms locked against each other. Even from above, the girls could see their faces. Teeth gritting with effort and eyes aflame with determination.

Suddenly, they broke off from each other and immediately began mercilessly attacking each other, throwing incredibly quick and powerful punches and kicks. These attacks countered each other and for a while, they simply stood there, locked in a ferocious exchange of blows. Then, Goku suddenly side stepped quickly and brought his leg against Vegeta's side. The Prince sailed across the patio and off the cliff the apartment rested on.

The girls gasped in shock. Yang gripped the windows, trying to get them open. Just as she did, she heard the girls gasp once more and she looked down to see why.

Within seconds of being kicked off a cliff, Vegeta sped back up onto the patio, jumping about and circling Goku. The low class Saiyan watched him move closely, his eyes darting about. Suddenly, Vegeta sprung forward and Goku just barely raised his arms to block. However, this gave Vegeta the advantage. He began to unleash a barrage of melee attacks, slowly pushing Goku back who tried to block every single blow.

Yet, eventually he slipped up and Vegeta saw a clear opening. Ducking down slightly, Vegeta delivered a heavy blow to the gut. Goku gasped, the breath being knocked out of him. Vegeta took this chance to follow up quickly and, just like Goku had done to him, used a side kick to push him off the edge.

This time the girls were ready and completely unsurprised to see Goku get back quickly and resume the fight. As they watched, Nora breathed, "They are incredible."

"You don't say," Ruby said, "And that's them going easy. Remember, they aren't using their full power as to not alert Frieza to our location."

Weiss smiled dryly, watching Goku and Vegeta charge each other once more. "And they think we can even come close to that level, let alone reach it."

Ruby put a hand on her shoulder, smiling confidently.

"Hey. If they think we can do it, maybe there is something behind that."

The girls all murmured in agreement. Slowly, they detached themselves from the window and started to get into bed, knowing that they had a long day tomorrow. Soon enough, they were fast asleep, some on the large bed and some on the ground, using mattresses as beds.

Everyone was asleep. Everyone except for Yang. She tossed and turned in her bed, trying to find a comfy spot. But she soon realized that the comfort wasn't the problem. Her mind was racing, thinking about the display of power and skill she had seen from Goku and Vegeta. Even Gohan and Krillin were beyond impressive. Which is why it terrified her to think about their enemies. If Frieza was able to bring fear and doubt into the hearts of people as strong as Goku and Vegeta, just how powerful was he?

Before Yang realized it, a few hours had passed. She still hadn't fallen asleep. During this time, she had at one point heard some muffled conversation downstairs, shortly followed by the opening closing of the patio door. Footsteps had come up the stairs and entered a nearby room, shutting the door behind them quietly.

At first, Yang had thought they had all finished their training and went to bed. But, soon enough, she heard more grunts coming from outside and she guessed that Gohan and Krillin had retired for the night. It seemed only logical that Goku and Vegeta would be the last ones awake.

A sudden idea came to her. Forgetting about sleep, she soundlessly got out of bed, grabbing her robotic arm from the bedside table as she went. She put on a simple jacket over her pajamas and headed downstairs.

When she opened the patio door, the sparring Saiyan's did not seem to notice. They were far to engaged in their fight to do so, trading blows faster than Yang could process. As she watched, she thought how truly unbelievable it was that they were holding back. But she also noticed something else. As they fought, she saw sweat pouring down their faces and muscles bulge slightly with the strain. It took her a second to realize that they were actually getting tired. That shouldn't have come as a shock to her. They were powerful, yes, but they still had limits.

Suddenly, Goku and Vegeta both aimed high for the face. Each of their fists collided into the others cheek, creating an awkward moment. The force of each punch had turned each of their heads to glance towards the house and it was then they finally noticed Yang.

"Oh, hi there, Yang!" Goku said, his muffled due to Vegeta's fist in his cheek. The Prince scowled over at Yang, though the scowl was slightly comical with a fist in the way.

"Why are you awake?" he asked coldly, "You need to be ready for tomorrow brat! We are going to make todays training seem like child's play!"

Yang shrugged a little. "Couldn't sleep. So, I wanted to see if maybe I could train with one of you. If you wouldn't mind, of course."

The two Saiyan's backed away from one another, dislodging their fists from each other's cheek. Goku grinned at her brightly.

"It seems the training is beginning to rub off on you, Yang. Luckily for you, I was just about to call it a night, but Vegeta would probably happy to stay out a little more and train."

He glanced over at the Prince, only receiving a small grunt in response. He took it as a yes. He walked past Yang, flashing her a kindly smile before exiting through the patio door, leaving Yang with Vegeta.

Once he had left, Vegeta just turned away from Yang.

"Attack me if you want," he said gruffly, "Let's see if you can actually do something."

Yang, smarting a little under his comment, crouched low and quickly pushed off from the floor and launched a mighty punch with her robotic arm. Vegeta didn't even turn around as he dodged and performed a smooth uppercut under Yang's stomach. She choked out a scream, feeling bile rising. She forced it down, staggering away and clutching her stomach. She touched it tenderly and was grateful to find that none of the bones hurt when touched. She looked up to see Vegeta looking away from her and over the valley below.

She grunted, biting back her pain and began shuffling her feet, darting back and forth while closing the distance between her and the Prince. Once near enough, she threw a feint with one hand while preparing for the real attack with the other.

At first, to her incredible surprise, Vegeta seemed to fall for the feint he dodged it and right into perfect range of her other arm. Overcome with excitement, Yang thrust her attack arm forward. Instead of hitting his face, Vegeta swiftly brought one hand up and caught her incoming fist in it. The block stopped her cold and for a second, she and Vegeta looked at each other eye to eye. Then, only using the hand she had caught her fist in, he literally spun her in midair before bringing her down to the ground. Yang felt the wood patio under splinter as she fell onto it and she felt a sickening crack run up her spine. It took everything she had not to scream in agony.

Vegeta looked over her, seeing that she was unable to continue. He scowled down at her, his expression not displaying any concern.

"You were a fool to come out this late," he berated her, "You needed rest to prepare for tomorrow. What type of training did you expect to accomplish with your energy spent?"

Despite the horrible aching in her spine, Yang glared up at him. She was so angry, with herself and with him, that she wanted holler and scream. But all she managed was, "So I try harder and all I get is a broken spine and angry scolding? I guess Qrow was right about you, Getes. You really are heartless."

Vegeta's expression did not change. He looked down coldly at her and Yang thought that he was going to leave her there to suffer. Then, to her absolute surprise, he began chuckling. Not a mean or spiteful chuckling either. But genuine, almost happy, chuckling.

"You know, girl," he said at last, "You really do remind me of the Saiyan race. You don't know when to quit, whether that be continuing to piss me off or not stop training."

His smile soon melted away as he looked down at her. "But, even the most powerful warriors must rest. Including you."

He knelt down and, with one fluid motion, hoisted Yang over his shoulder, making sure that she was facing downward as to not hurt her. She gasped a little, unable to say anything. Then, all of a sudden, pain and exhaustion took over her and she slumped over, falling deeply asleep.

Vegeta carried his luggage into apartment and up the stairs to the bedrooms. He kicked down the door he knew Dende was in. Inside, the other occupants happened to be Gohan, Krillin, and Goku. They didn't even twitch at the door being kicked open, exhausted after their night training.

Vegeta found Dende curled up in some blankets. Putting down Yang gently, he poked the little Namekian awake. After a few seconds, Dende finally woke up and listened blearily eyed as Vegeta gave him curt instructions.

"Heal the girls broken back, but not anywhere else. I want her to feel her other pains in the morning."

Dende sighed, not understanding the point of not healing someone when injured. But he did not argue with the Prince and did what he was told. As he healed the broken spine, Yang blinked a few times. But she did not wake from her slumber.

Once finished, Vegeta grabbed Yang once more and, without thanking Dende, left the room. He crossed over to the girl's room and once again kicked the door open. Like with the others in the other room, the girls did not stir, too deeply asleep to notice. Vegeta stepped around the sleeping girls on the floor, making his way to the bed where Yang had been trying to sleep and put her down gently. For a second, he glanced down at her, his face softer than usual. Then he left the room.

He was silently closing the door behind him when a voice nearly made him fire a Ki blast into the wall.

"You know, you aren't as bad as you think."

Bulma stood in the hallway, smiling slightly as Vegeta turned to her, his signature scowl in place. For a second, the two just stared at each other. Than Vegeta just grunted and began makings his way to his room.

Bulma sighed as he walked past her, knowing that she shouldn't have been surprised with this reaction. She also began to head downstairs, heading back to work on the Relic Radar, when Vegeta said something that caused her to stop.

"I won't let Frieza destroy this world. I won't let him eradicate another race. Like he did with mine."

Bulma glanced back at him. His face had lost the scowl, and for the first time, she saw true passion and determination in the Prince. Sure, he had shown confidence and excitement at times, but they were mostly due to his gloating about the Saiyan race. But now, it seemed that the Prince not thinking about himself, or his heritage.

"These kids have really grown on you, haven't they?" Bulma said, smiling gently.

Vegeta said nothing. His face then scowled once more, and he opened the door to his room and closed it behind him, not saying anything else to the scientist.

Bulma turned and headed downstairs. As she did so, her mind thought about all the fighters that were resting in their rooms. Resting so to become stronger the next day. Strong enough to fight the monster that had begun terrorizing this world.

Bulma sat down to work on the Relic Radar. She smiled down at the project, though the smile had nothing to do with it. It was from a simple feeing of hope.

 **After a long day, our Huntsmen heroes have trained hard to become stronger and be of assistance to the newcomers once the battling begins. Yet, will it all be enough? Will it be able to combat the immortal Salem? Will it even a stand a chance against Lord Frieza? Find out next time on Dragon Ball R!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Authors Note: Hello everybody! As always, welcome back to another chapter of Dragon Ball R! Thank you for all the continued support from all my readers, it really is appreciated to the fullest. Anyway, I don't have much to debrief you guys on today, so let's get straight into the story!**

 **Last time on Dragon Ball R, our heroes began to train for the upcoming battles against Salem and Frieza. However, Qrow and Bulma, after talking to Professor Lionheart, believe that an even sooner battle will need to happen. Meanwhile, Piccolo has also been training his new friends, all the while following Gohan's energy. Lord Frieza has also decided to train his generals, Captain Ginyu and Adam. The pieces are beginning to come together as all prepare for a soon upcoming battle! Today: Raven's Dilemma? Preparations for battle!**

* * *

In the woods of the continent of Anima, Piccolo and his three faunus friends walked along, enjoying the rising sun over the tree tops. The faunus were especially relishing the time away from hardcore training, which had been their main activity in the past few days.

Today, however, their Namekian instructor seemed to be much more subdued and had simply told them to follow him after they woke up. It had now been a few hours since then and he had barely uttered a single word to any of them, something that reminded them of the Piccolo they had met for the first time almost a week ago.

When they thought about that, Blake's, Sun's and Ilia's minds went into temporary vertigo. They could barely believe that in the past few days, so many things had occurred. It had felt far more like an entire year had passed. From the arrival of the tyrannical overlord Frieza, to the attack on Menagerie and the genocide of the faunus, to now training with an off world visitor while following him to his former pupil, which at this point they had figured out judging by the direction they had been heading for the past two days, to be in Mistral.

Blake stared at the tall figure in front of her that was Piccolo. A worried expression played over her as she watched him march quietly before them. While Sun had joked earlier that maybe Piccolo had done too much socializing in the past few days and needed to refamiliarize himself with solidarity, Blake, and the other two as well, had a sneaking suspicion what the true cause for his sudden silence. If they were right, they could hardly blame him. They could barely keep themselves from thinking about it.

Yesterday's shaking of the world would have that effect on anybody. It had been a terrifying few seconds, feeling helpless as they had waited for the tremors to pass. And even when they did pass, the fear had not abated after Piccolo told them who had caused the tremors. The enemy they had promised to fight and gain revenge on. Lord Frieza.

Of course, now it seemed almost silly to the faunus to think they ever had a remote chance of challenging the almighty lord. Even with all the backbreaking and mental training they had received under Piccolo, which had somehow already made them twice as strong as before, they were insignificant ants fighting a dinosaur.

These depressing thoughts swirled around in Blake's mind and she tried to push them away. Unfortunately, these thoughts also began bringing back the painful memories of the past, from the dead bodies all over Menagerie to her lifeless parents. Not wanting to be drowned in hopelessness once more, she called forward to Piccolo, "Hey, how much further to Gohan? I feel like we should be close to the kingdom of Mistral at this point."

For a few moments, Piccolo said nothing and continued walking. Blake glanced at her friends who shrugged back at her. Then Piccolo said, his voice gruff, "We aren't far. If we push ourselves a little, we will see him tonight."

That took the faunus by surprise for a moment.

"Tonight?" Ilia asked, "We crossed the majority of Anima in only a few days?"

Piccolo grunted. "We have been going at a very fast pace, only stopping for a few hours to rest and train. But, with my new on-the-move training exercises, we have been covering distance while training your bodies."

"I see," Sun said, trying to crack a smile, "And I presume you're so quite because you're thinking about how to greet your old pal? Like if you're gonna hug him a little or be all hard to get and serious."

Piccolo ignored the jokes. Blake sighed, shooting Sun a look before saying quietly, "Piccolo, you aren't giving up right?"

Piccolo finally turned around to look at them, his expression slightly surprised.

"What gave you that impression?"

Blake hesitated. "Well, ever since we felt the effects of Frieza's power, you have been silent and brooding. It reminds me of how I acted after the attack on Menagerie."

The Namekian stared down at her for a few seconds. Then he grinned a little and turned back around.

"You don't have to worry. While I have been a little… shaken up, I am far from throwing in the towel against that monster. Especially when the likes of Goku is out there, ready to fight off against him."

Ilia frowned slightly. "Goku? I don't think you have ever mentioned that name. Though it does sound similar to Gohan."

"Goku is Gohan's father," Piccolo explained, "He is a powerful warrior and my former enemy and rival."

"Former?" Sun asked, "You used to fight against Gohan's dad? How are you friends with his son?"

"It's complicated," Piccolo said, not in the mood to get into a long-winded discussion of the history between the Saiyan, "But, I used to be an evil being with hopes of world domination. Then, when I tried to train Gohan to help me in my conquest, something changed in me and now I have dropped those ideals. And while I am by no means best friends with Goku, I do respect him greatly for his strength."

Blake was a little afraid to ask, not wanting to offend her Namekian friend, but she was curious to find out.

"Is Goku stronger than you?"

Piccolo was silent. Even Ilia and Sun looked very uncomfortable with the question, shooting Blake curious looks. However, she did not back down and waited patiently for Piccolo's response. It came after a few seconds.

"Yes. We used to be on the same level, but he always finds ways to train more and become more powerful. At first, I was absolutely livid over the fact. But, as my old enemies became allies, I have begun to really feel grateful for his power. Especially considering our current enemy."

The others nodded in agreement. They walked on in silence for a bit, trying to keep their minds of unsavory thoughts. For Blake this was especially hard for her. But, after much physical and mental training under Piccolo, she began to find ways to cope with it. This time, she tried to think of her old teammates on Team RWBY. Unfortunately, this was the wrong way to go as she began thinking about Yang and how she had lost her arm protecting her from Adam during the fight of Beacon. How Ruby and Weiss had desperately fought against the forces of Grimm attacking the city. And of course, Ruby's rage at Pyrrha's death at the hands of Cinder.

Cinder. That was a name Blake had somehow almost forgotten in the past week. With the attack on Menagerie and a new enemy appearing, Cinder had effectively been pushed back into inner recesses of her mind. Now, she realized with a jolt that Sun, Ilia and Piccolo didn't even know about her and her involvement in the attack on Beacon.

"Hey guys," she said tentatively, trying to think of a good way to give out this information, "I just want to warn you, Adam and Frieza may not be the only forces we face."

Sun raised an eyebrow.

"You mean the Grimm? Trust me, I haven't forgotten about them."

Ilia nodded in agreement. Piccolo, however, said flatly, "I think she has something else on her mind. Let her speak."

Blake sighed. "During the attack on Beacon, we weren't just attack by the White Fang and Grimm. We were attacked by a powerful woman called Cinder. She… she killed one of our good friends and… well I don't much of the details, but she is someone we may have to fight in the future. I just wanted to make sure you guys know of that."

Ilia frowned slightly, a memory surfacing in her mind.

"Cinder… that name sounds familiar," she snapped her fingers, "Ah, yes! When I was still with the White Fang, I remember overhearing Adam talking with someone over the scroll. Multiple times, he addressed the other person as Cinder. And…," her brow furrowed even deeper as she remembered more, "They were talking about gaining the power of the… Fall Maiden."

A heavy silence befell the group. Around them, the wind seemed to grow stronger slightly, rustling the trees around them. It was Sun who finally spoke.

"You mean like the one in the fairy tales? The Four Maidens?"

Ilia nodded. "I know, it seems strange. But the way they were talking about it… well, it certainly didn't seem they were talking about something fictional."

An ice cold feeling suddenly trickled down Blake's spine as a sudden, horrible thought, came to her. As she thought about it, the more she was sure that it was the truth, though how she was sure was beyond her.

"I think," she said shakily, "That what Ilia just said… maybe the reason she attacked Beacon," she turned to Ilia, seeing her shocked expression, "When did you overhear this conversation?"

Ilia thought for a second. As she did, her body whitened as the chameleon traits in her displayed the fear she felt.

"The day before… the White Fang attacked Beacon…," she whispered hoarsely.

Sun clenched his hands tightly, his usual cheerful expression gone.

"So… the attack on Beacon was all because of something in fairy tales? What sick and twisted joke-"

He was cut off by a loud grunt ahead of him. The trio of faunus turned to look at Piccolo, who hadn't turned to face them.

"Don't get yourself worked up over something you aren't sure of," he said sternly, "As far as I can gather, all we know is that this Cinder person was conspiring with the White Fang to attack your academy. As for this whole Maiden thing, I personally don't know the fairy tale you are referring to but let me say this right now, not all fairy tales are just words on a page."

He turned to them, his face grim. "However, even if that's the case, do not let it get to you. While I am grateful for the new info on possible enemies, I would rather meet this Cinder in battle than Frieza. No matter how strong you believe she is or how terrible, it does not hold a candle to the likes of Frieza. After yesterday, I'm sure you can agree with this."

They all nodded, not needing to ask what he meant. He turned back around and continued forward. As he did so, his steps began to become quicker and soon enough, the faunus were sprinting to follow him as he began dashing through the woods. They were about to ask what was going on, when Piccolo called back behind him, "Here is our next training session! Keep up with me while keeping your mind at rest! Balance out your physical and mental excursion. If you slow down, I will leave you behind."

The faunus said nothing, too focused on following their instructors lead. For them, he was going extremely fast, already pushing them at a full sprint. For the Namekian, he was barely exerting any energy as he ran, only using a small bit of his full speed.

After a few moments, he glanced behind him for a second to see how his trainees were doing. All he saw was trees behind him. For a second, he thought he had gone far too fast. Then he looked to his side and his eyes widened slightly.

Sprinting level with him, his three companions smirked slightly at his shocked look.

"Why so surprised pal?" Sun chuckled, "Didn't think we were already getting faster and stronger from your training?"

Piccolo stared for a few more seconds. Then he grinned.

"It seems I have underestimated your potential. You have already become much stronger since I first met you. But," here he suddenly sped up, easily beginning to outrun the group, "That only means I don't have to be so easy on you."

The faunus grimaced as they tried to keep themselves from falling too far behind, smarting at Piccolo's smirk as he effortlessly ran before them. Though it did serve as a valuable lesson for them. Despite their fast learning, they were still many, many miles behind their trainer, the people that come from another world and light years away from the likes of Lord Frieza.

The thought, however, did not discourage them. It only reminded them of the danger their world was in and how they needed to do anything and everything to prevent the forces of evil from taking over.

They grit their teeth, flexed their aura and sped after Piccolo through the woods of Anima, preparing themselves for the fights they knew would come.

* * *

Yang stretched her back, feeling a series of satisfying cracks along her spine.

"Thank god," she said to herself, "I was slightly worried I would be waking up with a broken spine."

She and the other girls were preparing to head downstairs for training, this time making sure they woke up before the Prince barged in. Apparently, the boys had not learned their lesson the first time as they heard Vegeta kick open a door and bellow at them to get up.

As Yang stood before a mirror, examining herself for any bruises from yesterday's training, she was shocked to see how much her aura had already healed. Usually, it would have taken much longer to heal the number of bruises she had received yesterday, especially with the depleted aura she had gone to sleep with. But only a few large bruises remained now and even as she watched, she felt her aura flow through her, energizing her.

Of course, she knew that the broken spine she had received yesterday had not been healed using her aura. It felt too fresh and perfect to have been mended by aura. She had a funny feeling that after she had blacked out from the pain, Dende had healed her back. But only her back.

"Vegeta…," she said quietly, putting the dots together.

"What was that, Yang?" Weiss asked, who was checking her rapier.

"Nothing," Yang assured her, turning away from the mirror and getting dressed. However, as she did so, a small smile played on her lips.

Meanwhile, Jaune, Ren, and Oscar were in much more of a frenzy than their female companions. After seeing how Vegeta had treated the tardy girls yesterday, they were eager not to be given the same treatment.

As they dressed quickly, making sure to at least splash their faces and brush their teeth during the process, the door to their room opened. They turned to see Qrow peeking inside, fully dressed and frowning slightly. He nodded to Jaune and Ren before turning his hard eyes onto Oscar.

"Going out to spy on Leo, Oz," he said, his tone flat.

Oscar nodded slightly, feeling himself look away from the Huntsmen's dark eyes. It had been a few days since the spirit inside him had dropped the bombshell on everyone and while all the others did not display any animosity towards him, Qrow was still visibly angry at him whenever he was forced to converse with him.

Oscar felt Ozpin take control and he let him do so.

"Understood, Qrow," Ozpin said calmly, trying to put on a small smile, "Just be careful. If you are right, there may be people you can't take on your own."

Qrow's frowned turned into a scowl.

"Yeah, thanks for the sage advice. I will make sure to keep that in mind."

With that, he left, slamming the door behind him. Ozpin sighed sadly, noticing the sympathetic looks he received from Jaune and Ren.

"Don't worry about me boys," he said, smiling once more, "He has every right to be angry with me. Personally, I am far more worried about Oscar. He doesn't deserve to have the anger directed at him."

Jaune and Ren nodded in agreement, the former saying, "He has been quite resilient. I can't say I'm not impressed with him. Despite being dragged into this, he is doing everything he can to help. Even training with us."

Ozpin nodded. "Yes. To be honest, I actually discouraged him from doing so, saying that he was not expected to fight in the battle. However, he told me that as long as I lent him some of my experience and strength, he would join you guys in the fight. He… has a strong spirit. And," Ozpin smile widened a little, a proud face emerging, "I can't say I wasn't thrilled to have the chance to fight once more alongside powerful allies."

"Those guys are no joke," Ren said quietly, referring to their instructors, "Without them, I don't know if I would have the courage to continue."

"I didn't just mean them," Ozpin said, causing the two to turn to him in surprise, "My dear boys, I remember when you first took your entrance exam into Beacon. I remember that back then, I was proud to have students such as you in my school. Yes, I mean you as well Jaune," he added, noticing Jaune's disbelief, "You all had such passion and potential. However, in the past day, you have grown beyond what I could imagine. Not just in strength, though that is a feat in of itself, but in maturity and spirit. I am proud to fight alongside Huntsmen who do not waver at the fight ahead. You guys may not be nearly as strong as Goku, Gohan, Krillin or Vegeta. But you have improved unbelievably since when I first met you."

Ozpin smiled kindly even chuckling a little at their surprised looks. The tender moment was ruined when they heard loud booming footsteps up the stairs, heralding the arrival of a certain Saiyan.

"Oh boy," Ozpin said quietly, "Time to give the reigns up to Oscar. Though I'm still going to feel what Vegeta does to us."

Downstairs, the girls prepared themselves a quick breakfast, making a few pieces of toast. As they did so, they heard the sounds of running and yelling as the boys tried to escape Vegeta's wrath. Remembering yesterday, they flinched in sympathy.

Neo, after making sure that her toast was being prepared, looked around in the dining room, looking for Bulma. She then went to the living room and was shocked to see the blue haired scientist at the coffee table, still awake and working on the Relic Radar. Judging by her sunken eyes, ruffled hair, and the mug of coffee next to her, Bulma had not gotten a wink of sleep during the night.

"Oh, hey, Neo," she said, noticing the young woman and giving her a very tired smile, "Sleep alright?"

Neo ignored her question, staring at her with a mixture of concern and anger.

"Bulma! Have you been here all night?!"

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I told you so last night."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect you mean it literally. I thought you meant till like midnight or something."

Bulma laughed a little, putting down the screwdriver she was holding and taking a sip of coffee.

"Listen, Neo," she said, "When a scientist or engineer says they are pulling an all-nighter, they mean it. Though, it has been a while since I have had to."

She smiled smugly, and Neo decided to drop the argument, seeing she was not going to get anywhere with Bulma. Instead, she peered at the Relic Radar, which was beginning to come together nicely, and asked, "Is it almost finished?"

"Yep," Bulma nodded, taking up her screwdriver once more, "I just need to connect a few more wires then seal it all up and take it for a test run. Unfortunately, if it uses the dust crystals that Weiss gave me to only sense out other dust, I will have to take it apart and modify it once more. Hopefully, I have modified it enough so it only senses the Relics and their high energy."

Neo looked at her blankly and Bulma saw that very little she had just said had actually registered with her friend. She smiled, used to this feeling.

"To keep it simple, I am almost done and just need to test it and hopefully all goes off without a hitch."

Neo nodded dumbly. She was about to ask something else when Vegeta suddenly poked his head out to look into the living room, scowling angrily.

"Girl!" he barked at Neo, "Outside! Now!"

Then, his eyes shifted to Bulma. They lingered on her for a second before he grunted and left. Bulma smirked a little, patting Neo on the back.

"You should go after him. You have a lot of training to do, especially if Qrow actually finds more evidence on Lionheart's betrayal. I need someone to protect me in the fights ahead."

She took Neo's hand and squeezed it. The former mute looked down at her friend, feeling small tears forming. She squeezed back and began heading toward the patio, quickly wiping away her tears. Before she left, she heard Bulma call out, "Oh, and if Vegeta gives you a hard time, tell me and I will make sure to straighten that proud Prince out!"

Outside on the patio, Neo saw that everyone else was already there. The Huntsmen were standing in a line just like yesterday, weapons out and looking resolute as the four instructors stood before them. On the side lines, Dende sat. Despite not training himself, he looked just as determined as everyone else, ready to do his part in the upcoming fight.

Goku smiled as Neo sidled up to the others, completing the line of trainees. He clapped his hands in excitement glancing back at his fellow instructors to make sure they were all ready. Krillin gave him a thumbs up. Gohan nodded, his adorable face serious and ready. Vegeta simply grunted in his direction, his arms crossed.

"Alright then," he called out to the awaiting Huntsmen, "Now that everyone is here, we can begin today's session. Unfortunately, this session may be our last before our first fight if Qrow is right. However, that just means we are going to work you even harder today. Especially after how much stronger you became after only yesterday."

He looked over them all, a proud grin forming on his face. He knew that they probably thought he was over exaggerating about themselves becoming much stronger, but they couldn't sense energy levels. Goku could sense that after yesterday's long and grueling training, they were already twice as strong, their auras growing along with their physical strength. Of course, Dende's healing has been invaluable, allowing the teens to complete a second session after the end of the first. But Goku, and the others, saw that it was also that raw untapped potential. It was obvious they hadn't done a whole lot of hard training, only doing enough to keep themselves familiar with their fighting techniques. Now they were training to improve… improve and break limits.

"So today, until Qrow returns from his little spying trip," Goku said, a glint shining in his eye, "You better get ready to work harder than you ever have!"

* * *

Chief Raven Branwen sat in her tent alone and quietly holding her Grimm mask. Outside, the noises of bustling tribes' people could be heard, rushing around and fixing tents and walls from the tremors that had occurred the previous day.

Yet, the Chief barely heard any of these noises. She was too entrenched in her own thoughts to hear much of anything. Thoughts that, for once, worried her deeply.

As the chief of her tribe, she took great care in ensuring her peoples safety. In the past, this had merely meant against Grimm and the occasional outsider, which had been relatively easy to do. But even then, she had taken measures to make sure she was prepared for greater dangers.

Such as… killing her.

Raven tensed as she remembered that fateful day many years ago. The day where a young woman had stumbled upon the tribe. A woman with extraordinary powers. However, she had no knowledge in how to control them, leading to Raven killing her and taking the powers for herself. The powers of the Spring Maiden.

Raven clenched her fingers around the mask, feeling her eyes blaze with a mystical light just at the thought. However, despite this rush of power, Raven had long ago lost any enjoyment from it. Especially when she realized the long-term ramifications that may befall her.

At first, taking the powers had been a way for her to become more powerful and give her the ability to protect her tribe. But, with the rise of Salem, she had realized that by doing so, she had effectively made herself a living target for the dark sorceress. That is… if she ever found out.

So far, Raven was certain the secret of the Spring Maiden was safe. She had never used her powers against anyone yet, only using them occasionally in the dead of night to keep herself familiarized with them. However, if it did ever get out that the location of the Spring Maiden may be around the location of her tribe or, god forbid, in her tribe, she had to make sure that those people, whether that be Salem or anybody else, did not know it was her. Effectively, she needed a decoy… a loyal decoy…

At this moment, the flap to her tent opened. She looked up to see Vernal sticking her head, her face slightly concerned.

"Hey chief," she said, "Is everything alright?"

Raven was so used to Vernal's feisty and smug attitude, she had almost forgotten the girl had a soft spot. She only ever saw it when she was alone with the girl. While Raven did value strength and loyalty far more than sappiness, she did not mind this side of Vernal.

She smiled up at her. "Yes, I believe so. How is everything out there?"

Vernal stepped inside and gave her report, standing to attention.

"The outer wall section that had collapsed has been fully repaired this morning, thanks to our builders working overnight. Our scouting parties did come across a few small Beowolves that were slain quickly, but no other Grimm were spotted. Currently, we are erecting new tents to replaces some of the toppled ones, which will use as extra material for clothes and furniture. Besides all of that, the Branwen tribe is once more under control and ready to follow you."

Raven took this all in silently. While she was pleased with the report, it did not raise her mood much. Not with the other thoughts still circulating around her head. Vernal seemed to see this in her boss's expression.

"Chief? Are you sure everything is alright?"

Raven looked up at her and instead of a powerful, well trained tribes' person, she saw a concerned and even scared girl. It momentarily made her think of Yang and how she was doing.

Raven smiled dryly at Vernal.

"It's nothing, Vernal. I just have a lot going on in here," she gestured to her head, "Things that are… concerning for myself."

Vernal shifted her feet and suddenly looked a little embarrassed, as if she was hiding something. Unfortunately for her, Raven was quite perceptive and easily saw the change.

"Is there something you want to say, Vernal?" Raven asked calmly, "You seem to have something on your mind."

"Well, you see," Vernal started before stopping and gulping. Then she mustered her courage once more and said quickly, "I was wondering if it had anything to do with those strange powers you have."

Raven stared at her for a few seconds, not daring to believe what she had heard. Then she stood up and walked towards Vernal, gripping the teen by the shoulders tightly.

"How do you know of this?" she asked, her voice low and deadly calm.

Vernal tried to shrink back, but Raven held her tight. She could feel the frightened girl shaking and realized that her reaction was sort of justified. She tried to relax her face and loosen her grip, asking once more, "How do you know of this, Vernal?"

"I-I s-saw," Vernal stuttered, barely able to get the words out, "You o-outside once, d-during the middle of the n-night. I d-didn't mean to s-spy, but I saw you use p-powers that I have n-never seen before. Powers that looked… well, powerful."

Raven held her for a few more seconds. Then she let her go and began pacing about her tent, her face scrunched up in concentration. Vernal watched anxiously, saying, "I am truly sorry, Chief Branwen. I will accept any punishment!"

Raven sighed deeply. But, as Vernal said this, a thought came to her. A solution.

"Listen, Vernal-"

At that very moment, the two heard new sounds coming from outside. Tribesmen yelling and shouting at something mixed with the clang of weapons being drawn and the marching of numerous feet.

"What is going on?" Vernal asked, looking at the tent entrance. Then she was pushed slightly as Raven walked past her and threw the tent flaps open.

"Come with me, Vernal," she said, her voice dark and muffled behind the Grimm mask, "We will discuss your punishment later."

The two of them stepped outside to see the entire tribe blocking the pathway towards them. The men and woman were all carrying weapons of some kind and wearing a face of anger and determination. At the head of the crowd, Raven did not see any fighting or any other kind of commotion, but nonetheless she decided to get to the bottom of this as soon as she could.

"What is the meaning of this?" she called out to her tribe, her voice commanding and slightly frightening due to the mask. The crowd before her stirred, anxious faces peering up at her. Then, before any of her people could give her a response, a silky female voice spoke out.

"Well, if it isn't Raven Branwen."

Raven followed the sound of the voice to the head of the crowd and her fists tightened around the hilt of her sword. Standing calmly before the crowd, grinning sweetly up at her, was a woman in red. Beside her stood four companions; a teen boy and girl, a well-dressed man with a mustache, and a scorpion faunus with a crazed look in his eyes.

Raven did not recognize any of them, but she had a sneaking suspicion she knew where they had come from. Of course, she had no real evidence to back it up, but she had been in the business long enough to just sense these things.

Despite this, she started off by calling out to the group, "Who are you? What brings you to my tribe?"

The woman in red snickered a little, her sweet smile becoming more of a leer.

"Oh, Raven. Your just as fiery as I expected. Very well then," the red woman stepped forward slightly and gestured to herself, "I am Cinder Fall, the Fall Maiden and loyal servant to Salem. Beside me are my own two loyal henchmen; Mercury and Emerald."  
Mercury and Emerald sneered up at Raven, much like their master. Being teenagers, the look fitted them nicely and made the gesture all the smugger.

Cinder glanced to her other companions. "And here we have-"

"Please, Cinder," the mustached man said coolly, "I believe I can introduce myself."

Cinder's sneer melted off a little, replaced by a snarl. Her eyes glinted dangerously, a small fiery light forming around them. However, the man simply tutted and turned his attention to Raven.

"I am Dr. Arthur Watts at your service," he bowed slightly, though his gaze never left Raven's, "Like my companion, I am a servant to our majesty Salem."

Finally, the faunus stepped up, his tail twitching behind him and his grin manic. He licked his lips as he looked up at Raven, not saying anything for a few moments. Then he bowed down low and said in a high, but smooth tone, "Tyrion, loyal only to our queen, our goddess, Salem."

A few of the tribe's people near Tyrion stepped back as he straightened up once more, his face still just as crazed. Raven, however, did not seem too perturbed. In fact, she simply raised her hands and slowly lifted off her Grimm mask, exposing her stern face and red eyes. She placed it down beside her before turning her gaze onto her tribe.

"Disperse," she commanded, "You still have jobs to do."

The crowd hesitated, unwilling to leave their chief with these obviously unsavory people. However, they also knew that their chief always knew best and disobeying her was not in their best interest.

They all gave a cry of assent before branching off into different directions. Within just a few minutes, the center of the tribe was empty apart from Raven, Vernal, and the servants of Salem.

Once alone, Raven turned her scarlet eyes onto Cinder, the Fall Maiden. That enough was cause for worry. It meant that, if it came down to a fight, she and Cinder would be of equal strength, leaving Vernal and the rest of the tribe to deal with the four others, who Raven could tell were far more experienced and powerful. The only way Raven could about do this without suffering casualties was to talk and find out more information. Luckily for her, Cinder and her troop didn't seem too interested in fighting at the moment, though their evil sneers were not comforting.

"Now that we are alone," Raven began, her voice still just as strong and commanding as ever, "Tell me why you have barged into my tribe?"

Instead of answering, Cinder looked around, inspecting the tents and the outer wall. Her eyes paused on a few of the still broken tents laying around and the noticeable difference in wood on the perimeter wall where the collapsed section had been restored with new wood.

"I see you have gone under hard times, Chief," Cinder said slyly, adding the last formality in a mocking tone, "Grimm giving you hard time?"

"It seems more than a hard time," Watts interjected, pointing to a tent that held a few wounded tribes' people, "I did not expect this of the great and mighty Raven Branwen."

Vernal snarled angrily. She stepped forward, but Raven stuck out an arm to stop her. Instead of getting angry at the insults, she simply said, "The day before, we had a large earth tremor. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was strong enough to cause some damages."

At the mention of "earth tremors", the looks of smugness on the intruders vanished. They visibly tensed up, their eyes suddenly alert. The reaction should have made Raven pleased. Unfortunately, it only confirmed her fears.

"You seem alarmed," Raven noted, still making sure to take advantage despite her inner fears, "There is no need to worry. We have had no aftershocks."

Mercury snorted, though it came out more squeakily than he had hoped for.

"Earth tremors? Aftershocks? You are as dumb as that Grimm mask if you believe that was the cause."

Beside Raven, Vernal gasped, her face paling. Apparently, the conversation with the Saiyan's had not left her mind either. Raven did not react, but her heart sank even deeper. Meanwhile, Watts rounded on Mercury.

"Silence!" he hissed, "We agreed not to discuss that! Cinder, can't you keep your lapdogs in check?"

Mercury and Emerald started forward, the latter reaching for her weapon. However, Cinder stepped in between them and Watts, her face stormy. For a second, a silent standoff ensued. Then Cinder, growling in frustration spat out, "He's right. Keep quiet you two."

Raven watched the exchange silently. She realized that they had expected her not to know about Him. Granted, she hadn't until the Saiyan's that had passed by with her daughter told her all about it.

"I presume you are talking about Frieza?" she asked coldly, deciding to quit with the name game and get straight down to it, "He was the one that shook the world?"

The visitors froze, clearly surprised that Raven knew. But at the mention of the name, they also did another quick scan around the village. They were without a doubt paranoid. It was Watts that finally broke the silence.

"Why, yes. We were referring to Lord Frieza. Though I am quite surprised you know of his existence, unless…," his eyes widened suddenly, looking up at Raven in awe, "He was here…"

Raven actually smirked slightly at that.

"If that was the case, Dr. Watts, by what I have heard about Frieza, me and my entire tribe would not be here."

Watts looked taken aback for a second. Then he smirked himself and shook his head.

"Yes, you are quite right. Foolish question, I apologize. But then, if I may ask," his eyes glinted slightly as he looked into Raven's, "How do you know of Frieza?"

Vernal twitched slightly beside her and Raven couldn't fully blame her. That had learned about Frieza from people that, though far from evil, were no less terrifyingly powerful. However, for Raven, that wasn't what discouraged her from giving the servants of Salem the truth. Yang was with them and giving information about Goku and Vegeta would put her daughter's life at risk… or at least more of a risk than it already was in.

"Passing by travelers," she said simply, "They needed lodging for the night and provided enough money to earn them hospitality. During their stay, they told us of a new powerful force in Remnant known as Lord Frieza."

Cinder narrowed her eyes slightly. She seemed skeptical about Raven's answer, but before she could say anything, Watts spoke up once more, his voice elegant and professional.

"I see. Then it won't surprise you that Frieza has, at this point, overthrown the White Fang and taken it for himself, attacked Atlas successfully and giving him access to dust, and led an invasion on the island of Menagerie, inflicting mass genocide on the faunus race."

Even Raven, with her naturally stoic personality, could not hide her shock. Vernal whimpered, cowering a little. Normally, Raven would have scolded such actions. But in this case… it almost seemed like the appropriate response.

Tyrion giggled a little at the reaction.

"Aww, did we scare the poor girl?" he asked menacingly, leering up at Vernal.

Watts scowled at Tyrion. "That's enough of that. I believe that we weren't much better when we heard the news."

Tyrion recoiled, glaring at Watts. However, he did not offer up any retort. Even Cinder did not say anything. Watts turned back to Raven, his face softening.

"I see that this piece of news has quite unsettled you," he said, his voice suddenly kindly, "I do greatly apologize for dropping it like so. However, it is of course necessary to know what our enemies are doing."

Raven tensed a little at the word "our". She did not buy into Watt's suddenly kind act and she pulled herself together, pushing her other emotions aside. She needed to focus on the problem at hand. She could think about the other ones later.

"Enough of this," she said darkly, "You have yet to tell me exactly why you are here. I doubt it was to talk about Frieza."

Watts looked a bit startled at her quick recovery. However, he recovered quickly himself and regained his polite smile.

"Ah, yes. My apologies, Chief Branwen. The topic of Frieza is just always so tantalizing. He always finds his way into conversations, whether you like it or not."

A cold chill ran up Raven's spine. His words and the tone he spoke them in conveyed something that she didn't expect. However, it was unmistakable.

"You admire him," she said, before even knowing she had said it.

There was an eerie silence. A light breeze blew past them, ruffling cloaks and hair, bringing about a shiver. Vernal was staring at the doctor in horror, unable to comprehend what her Chief had just said. Even some of Watts's own companions looked uncomfortable. Finally, Mercury tried to dispel the tense moment by saying, "Yeah, our doc is kinda a creep like that. Just ignore his stupid ramblings."

Instead of replying angrily to his taunts, Watts smiled cruelly in the teen's direction.

"You joke about this, Mercury, but you do realize that I am not the only one here that greatly admires Lord Frieza," he gestured to Cinder, who was determinedly staring at the ground, her fists clenching at the name, "Your own dear Cinder admires him even more than I. And why shouldn't she? Lord Frieza has immeasurable power, an aura of evil and chaos, and the skills to accomplish things that would take others an entire lifetime to do."

Emerald stepped up next to Cinder, glaring at Watts.

"Don't bring Cinder into this," she warned, her voice rising steadily, "Cinder would never admire such a freak. No matter how incredibly powerful he is."

Watts just smirked, looking past Emerald to Cinder.

"Do you not admire him Cinder?" he asked slyly.

Emerald growled angrily, but Cinder suddenly put a hand on her shoulder. Emerald turned and saw her masters face. Grim but also, to her terror, unmistakably wistful.

"The doc is right," she said calmly, "I do admire Frieza. He is by far the most powerful being on this world and easily has the potential to rule over all of us."

Tyrion started forward, snarling angrily at both admirers.

"How dare you both praise our enemy! We are loyal to our queen! Salem will be the one to prevail and create a new world order!"

Watts laughed a little, clapping Tyrion on the shoulder.

"Of course, we are loyal to our mistress Salem. We will see to it that she does see her plans through. But," here his voice hardened, "Getting past the likes of Frieza will be a monumental task, Tyrion. Even you know that much."

Raven, who had stood up and taken in all the information, had finally had enough of this. She cleared her throat loudly, gaining the groups attention.

"Pardon me for interrupting," she snarled, "But if you don't mind, I would like to know exactly why you are here in my tribe!"

Cinder smiled up at Raven, her eyes glowing slightly.

"Yes, of course," she said, her sweetness returning, "We have been going way off track. Let us get down to business, shall we?"

She stepped forward deliberately. As she did so, the air around her swirled slightly, picking up dust particles and leaves from the ground. Above, a miniature dark ring of clouds began to form in the sky. Cinder smirked as she flexed her Maiden powers, toning it down so she could continue talking.

"We are here for simply one thing, my dear chief. We are here for the Spring Maiden."

It took all of Raven's willpower not to draw her weapon and attack. She felt Vernal tremble slightly, though her face was not fearful anymore. It was angry and determined, ready to fight alongside her chief. That gave Raven some confidence.

"What do you mean by that, Cinder Fall?" she asked casually.

Watts now stepped up. Now that the discussion of Frieza has seemed to come to a close, his entire demeanor was much more businesslike.

"We have evidence from a few sources that the Spring Maiden ran away to this location some time ago. She hasn't been spotted for many years and we have come to the conclusion that you may be hiding her in this tribe. If so, we demand you show us."

Raven narrowed her eyes darkly.

"Demand me? And what if I don't comply with this demand?"

Watts chuckled wearily.

"Come now. Do you think our master Salem will be pleased with that? She has already had her eye on you for a while, Raven Branwen. This would be the perfect excuse to murder you and your entire tribe."

He smiled up at her, though there was no friendliness in the look. His companions were smiling just as evilly up at Raven and the temperature seemed to drop. The chief gripped the hilt of her sword, considering her options. She knew that the time for negotiations was past. They wanted one thing and one thing only. Nothing more. Nothing less. But she could not come out and say who she was and allow them to use her for their gain.

She glanced over at Vernal. The teen had regained her feisty attitude and was holding her weapons in each hand, glaring murderously at their opponents. For a second, Raven truly regretted what she wanted to do. But she had no other option.

Standing up she gestured to Vernal. "Behold then! Our Spring Maiden Vernal!"

Vernal started in shock. For a split second she locked eyes with her chief and in that second, Raven silently conveyed her needs. The girl did not need to ask. She just needed to follow.

Cinder peered curiously at Vernal, not noticing the exchange between her and Raven. She looked the teen up and down, clearly not too impressed. Watts smirked a little after a few minutes.

"Something the matter Cinder?" he asked, his voice condescending, "Do you have any suspicions?"

Cinder looked like she wanted to respond scathingly. But she suddenly changed her mind and sported a malicious look.

"Whether I have suspicions or not is highly unimportant," she said, her eyes fixed on Vernal, "All I need her to do is prove it."

Raven tensed a little at that, but she had expected it. Vernal glanced at her quickly and, after a quick nod from her chief, closed her eyes and raised her arms. At the same time, Raven closed her eyes and activated her power. Around Vernal, the wind blew in swirls and the sky just above her formed a dark halo. The display was nearly identical to what Cinder had performed only moments before.

After a few seconds, Raven relaxed, letting go of the power and the environmental effects wore off. As they dissipated, Vernal made a small act of relaxing herself and even added in well-timed sigh.

Now Raven turned back to the servants of Salem, trying to her hide anxiety. To her relief, they looked quite convinced. In fact, Cinder looked nearly ecstatic with her eyes gleaming. She walked over to Vernal and put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"That was a truly marvelous display," Cinder said, her voice sounding genuine, "You are truly my Maiden sister."

Vernal looked down, uncomfortable with the closeness of Cinder. The woman giggled at the apparent shyness and turned around once more to Raven, her face a lit with glee.

"Now that we have successfully found the very elusive Spring Maiden, thank you by the way Raven," she inclined her head before continuing, "We can now be on our way. Of course, we will be taking the Maiden with us."

Cinder's grip tightened on Vernal's shoulder and she began leading the girl away. Vernal tried to struggle, but Cinder simply tittered and pulled her along. She was only stopped when Raven leapt over her head and landed between her and her companions. The chief's face was dark with anger.

"And where are you taking my loyal tribe member?" she asked, venom in each syllable.

Watts stepped up behind her and she whirled to face him, her sword drawn in a flash. The doctor seemed quite unperturbed by the show and simply raised his hands up.

"Now, now," he said calmly, "Don't get too hasty. We are only taking her to Haven Academy. She is the literal key to the Relic underneath. You should know this by now, Chief Branwen."

"And after that?" Raven continued, her sword still leveled at Watts.

The man grinned at her. "Then we let her go back to her tribe unharmed and the forces of Salem swear never to do any harm to the tribe."

Raven's sword dipped at that. She hadn't expected a bargaining chip at this stage and the offer caught her momentarily off guard. Of course, she could not fully trust these people, especially since they were servants of Salem. Yet, if what he said was true…

"While your offer is tempting," Raven said after a small pause, "It is unfortunately, not quite strong enough."

It was Watts's turn to be off guard.

"What do you mean by that, Chief Branwen?"

Raven smirked a little. Despite being admittedly taken aback by the proposal, she had found one massive flaw in it. A flaw that had been discussing just a few minutes ago.

"If you do stand by your word and the forces of Salem do not attack," she said, "My tribe is still far from safe."

Mercury raised an eyebrow at her.

"That doesn't make any sense lady."

But realization dawned on Watt's face. He nodded knowingly.

"He really does have a way of weaving into conversations," he said quietly.

"What are you-" Mercury began before Emerald elbowed him in the ribs.

"You dolt!" she hissed, "Have you forgotten about Frieza?"

As Mercury finally put it together, Raven turned to face Watts and Cinder, the latter still holding onto Vernal, who had remained calm for her chief's sake.

"So, Dr. Watts," Raven said coldly, "With that, I hope you have something better to offer up. Otherwise, it seems we are going to have a problem."

Unfortunately, as Raven said this, she was nearly panicking on the inside. She was bluffing at this point and if they took it... it was game over for the tribe.

Watts sneered at her, looking quite comfortable. Raven could only imagine what he was going to say next and she readied herself, waiting for the possible order to attack.

"You can come with us along with the Spring Maiden. At Haven, a juicy treat waits for you as well. Such as… a certain brother."

Raven stared at him for a second, her eyes going wide. However, it wasn't the excitement that Watts had been hoping for. It was fear. If Qrow was there, that means Yang is there and that means… those two are there.

Raven knew that if they went up against the likes of Goku and Vegeta, they would most certainly lose. But she also knew that if she declined, she, Vernal and the rest of the tribe would be slain right here. Either way, she lost. Unless…

A crazy plan began to formulate. She needed to keep her tribe safe under all costs. For that, she needed more power. More influence. She already had the powers of Maiden, what else could she get. The answer was simple. What they wanted her to get for them. All she needed to do was to get around the likes of the Saiyans.

Raven smiled and straightened up, sheathing her sword. "You have a deal, Dr. Watts. I have been waiting to give my brother a taste of reality. But I do want it to be promised that the Branwen tribe will be under the protection of Salem from here on out."

Watts took a moment to consider. But he nodded and outstretched his hand for shake.

"Those parameters are quite acceptable."

Raven shook it, her face calm. Inside, her mind was racing as she fully comprehended what she had just subjected herself and poor Vernal to. Around her, the servants of Salem smiled in victory, happy to see that they had succeeded in their mission. Cinder tried to pull Vernal along once more, but this time Watts stopped her.

"Give them a moment to get themselves ready, Cinder," he said curtly, "We wouldn't want to be to pushy with our new allies," he then turned to Raven and bowed, "Unfortunately, this is where I will have to say my farewell. I must return to our master's side. But I wish you all the luck in your upcoming battle."

Cinder scowled but said nothing and let go of Vernal who rubbed her shoulder. Raven nodded at Watts before guiding Vernal away. Once they were in her tent and well out of earshot of their guests, Raven let go of the teen and leaned against one of the tents supports, sighing deeply. Vernal looked nearly hysterical.

"We are screwed," she muttered, "We will be destroyed."

She touched her neck tentatively, remembering where Vegeta had grabbed her. Raven listened to her ramblings, unable to blame her for her fear. But she would need her to calm down or the plan could collapse.

"Listen to me, Vernal," she said sternly, "You need to stay calm. You need to act like the Maiden for a bit. At least until we get to Haven and find the Relic."

"But what about those guys?" Vernal asked, her nerves still jangling, "We can't fight them."

"No, we can't," Raven confirmed calmly, "But, we can try to get around them. All we need is to wait for the opportune moment and then snatch the Relic… and then."

Raven clenched her fists and Vernal saw for the first-time true terror in her chief's eyes. However, she also saw the ever-present fiery determination.

"Then… I will use the Relic to keep us safe from everyone."

* * *

Adam collapsed to the floor, his katana clattering beside him. Nearby, Captain Ginyu did the same, pulling away from the last of the Frieza soldiers they were training against. Just like the day before, the throne room's floor was covered in the blood of numerous soldiers that had been slain.

Lord Frieza sat at the head of the room in his throne, looking down at his two generals. For once, he seemed rather bored and did not comment as the duo panted heavily on the floor. He had once more put them through the same intense training, sending in even more soldiers at a time and forcing Ginyu and Adam to fight them all off. At first, he had enjoyed the show, chortling a little as his generals cut through the soldiers. However, it had soon become quite dull for him, to the point where he had simply left the throne room at one point to deal with other matters.

Now, as the trainees tried to keep themselves from collapsing, Frieza stood from the throne and made his way out once more, only stopping to gesture with his hand at the room, clearly telling Ginyu and Adam to clean up.

Once he had left, Adam coughed a bit more freely. He was too afraid to show that he was tired or week in front of Frieza, fearing it could get him killed. Ginyu did the same before straightening up quite steadily and making his way to a nearby wall. There were some buttons on the wall and he pressed one, causing a small part of the wall to slide open like a door and reveal a few mops and brooms.

"Let's get cleaning boy," he said gruffly, tossing a mop in Adam's direction.

The faunus caught it and, along with the Captain, began cleaning the blood off. As he did so, he tried not to look at the bodies. He did not want to see a familiar face. He was too ashamed too. But not for the same reason as yesterday.

Yesterday, he had lamented on the fact that he had slaughtered hundreds of his men. Now though, he was feeling ashamed for the pleasure he had gotten this time around.

During this session, he had been doing much of the same as he had done yesterday, dodging and dispatching foes quickly. However, he had quickly noticed that he was faster, stronger and far more durable than ever before. He hadn't realized how much of an improvement he had made just from that first session until he had begun fighting once. And it had gone right to his head. He had begun fighting harder, more brutally, killing his former comrades like they were just small-minded Grimm. Or humans. The feeling had overcome him and only now, cleaning the remains, did he really come to terms with it.

He squeezed his eyes shut, cursing himself. If these had been humans, he would have felt little to no pity. But faunus… it was just like the attack on Menagerie. He could not stomach it. But he had no choice. Not unless he wanted to be murdered himself.

"You're fighting abilities are improving fast boy," Ginyu said, snapping Adam out of his thoughts. He glanced at the person inside of Hazel's body. He was smirking slightly, though it didn't look malicious or cruel.

Adam just nodded curtly and continued cleaning. He did not want to feign civility with Ginyu. Though he had to admit that, despite the man's goofy poses, he knew how to fight. And those energy blasts…

"How do you do it?" Adam blurted out before he could stop himself.

Ginyu glanced up curiously. "Do what?"

"Those beams and blasts of energy."

"Oh!" Ginyu clapped himself on the head, "Of course! You don't use the same energy as me and Lord Frieza. Well buddy, sorry to break it to you but with your type of life force, I don't know if you can."

Adam grit his teeth angrily, though he did not know exactly why he was so angry. Before he could ponder any further, however, Ginyu said, "But honestly, it's not your style boy."

That caught the bull faunus's attention. He turned to glare at the Captain.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Ginyu chuckled a little. "No need to get all worked up. I meant that your skill with sword is far more comfortable for you. Besides, it works well with that special ability you have."

Adam stared at him in shock. "How did you know about my Semblance? I have never even mentioned it to you."

Ginyu put a hand on Adam's shoulder. It was a friendly gesture, but Adam could feel the powerful grip behind it.

"I can see it when you fight. You kept storing energy and releasing it when most necessary. I noticed you use it a number of times when you got surrounded. Very impressive technique I must say."

Adam was a little surprised at the genuine compliments. In fact, he realized it had been the first piece of real positive reinforcement for quite a long time. He felt a small bit of respect for the Captain. He wasn't warming up to him or anything, but his impression of him did improve.

"Thank you," he said simply.

"Don't thank me," Ginyu said, his expression becoming more serious, "You should thank Lord Frieza. He has molded you into a far better fighter in just two days. It is a privilege beyond all to receive such treatment."

Adam scowled at this, shrugging of Ginyu's hand.

"He hasn't molded me into anything. All he has done is sit up in his throne and watch us struggle and kill for his amusement."

To his surprise, Ginyu didn't get angry at the outburst. He just sniggered slightly, picking up his mop once more.

"I didn't mean physically. In that regard, you can thank all the loyal soldiers here that you killed," he kicked one of the bodies into a corner, "But Lord Frieza has made you stronger mentally."

Adam scoffed at this.

"Oh really? How is that, Captain Ginyu?"

Ginyu turned back to him and Adam saw that his eyes were completely clear of laughter. He wasn't joking.

"When I first met you boy, you were a cowardly runt that did everything he could not to be murdered by Lord Frieza. You felt pain and sadness for the troops, even if you had no real connection with them. It made you weak, pathetically so. Even that attack you led on that island was only you trying to keep yourself alive and after it you were moping about, no use to anyone. But now," Ginyu gestured around him, "You are killing them to become stronger. Using them for a better purpose. And you enjoy it."

Both mops fell to the floor as Adam charged forward, drawing his sword and slashing down on Ginyu, who raised his arm and blocked the blade, using the aura he stole from Hazel to protect his skin.

Adam's face was livid, grunting and spluttering as he tried to force his blade down further, a new adrenaline of anger coursing through him. Ginyu just stood steady, grinning up at him.

"Don't be surprised, Adam," he continued calmly, "Just look at this right here. A few days ago, you would not have dared charge me like this. You would have cowered away, trying to act like a tough guy. Lord Frieza has pushed all the buttons and shaped you into someone that can be his own man. Or should I say faunus?"

Adam leapt back, landing on the floor a few feet away. Ginyu faced him, crouching in a fighting stance. All the while he continued, "You are now far more powerful and far more cunning. And you even began to enjoy killing them."

"Shut up," Adam snarled, "SHUT UP!"

He charged forward once more, this aiming for Ginyu's head. However, Ginyu chose this exact moment to say something Adam would not be able to ignore.

"You have taken a liking to your new-found power… power that you achieved through killing faunus."

Adam froze mid charge. He stumbled and skidded to a halt near Ginyu. His face was still contorted in rage and his fists clenched tightly on his katana. But the Captain had said the very thing he knew to be true deep inside. He enjoyed this power. He enjoyed not feeling pain and panic all the time. And all it took was some time with the psychotic lord and the slaughter of his kind. If this was the result, then…

Adam sheathed his weapon, the adrenaline fading away. Ginyu watched in satisfaction as the faunus's angry face changed to one of dawning realization and then to one of hunger.

"It seems you have finally caught on," he said to Adam, "Of course, don't let it get to you too much. You still follow the commands of Lord Frieza."

Adam looked up and actually smirked.

"Trust me, Ginyu. I am not a moron. Even now, I still do fear death by his hand."

"As you should," a new voice suddenly called out.

The two whipped around, but they both knew who it was. The voice was unmistakably cold and venomous. They trembled as Lord Frieza himself stepped back into the throne room, scowling down at them.

"I believe you were supposed to be cleaning up your mess," he said, his tone etched with anger, "And now I find you two fooling around and talking… I wonder. Has my preferential treatment spoiled you?"

He reached the throne and watched darkly as the duo before him flung themselves to their knees, praying for forgiveness. He considered ignoring their pleas, and was in the process of raising his finger, when he realized that without them, he would have no decently skilled troops to call generals.

"Consider yourselves lucky," he sneered, sitting himself down on the throne, "It just so happens I need some capable fighters. Now, do your duty and finish quickly," he paused, and a small evil smile crossed his lips, "I have just finished preparing an attack force for the each of you to use as raiding parties."

Ginyu and Adam did as they were told, picking up the mops and cleaning. As they did so, Ginyu asked as politely as he could, "If I may, my lord, what are we raiding for?"

Frieza chortled at this.

"Oh, my dear, Ginyu. This is merely a test run of our new equipment. I need to analyze how our troops do in the battlefield. So far, the only times I have seen them in action is here during your training sessions," Frieza smirked a little, "It's the only reason I really watch the sessions for myself."

Ginyu nodded quickly, disregarding the insult, and proceeded to clean. Nearby, Adam was cleaning away some blood, thinking over what Frieza had said. It would be the first time he would go out in the world since Menagerie and it would be the first time with this new strength. It was quite exhilarating for him, but…

An idea came to his mind suddenly. He whipped around, dropping his broom and once more flinging himself down before Frieza.

"My lord! May I request something?"

The emperor looked down in amusement at the show for a few moments. Then he laced his fingers together and fixed his eyes on Adam.

"Go on."

Adam looked up, seeing the red eyes boring into his. This same action may have caused him to stay silent in prior times. But now, he just swallowed his fear and stated his proposition.

"I would like to prove myself to your lordship once more. With this new boost in strength and new look on ideals, I would be honored if I could be allowed to attack the Kingdom of Mistral and more specifically the city of Mistral."

A few feet away, Ginyu stared at Adam, a mixture of shock and pride on his face. Frieza did not show much emotion, except for a slight grin. He nodded for Adam to go on and the faunus did so.

"The city is a hotspot of culture and resources, especially since it's located in a mountain valley. If we had it under out control, we could cultivate the area around us and reap the rewards. In addition, it would expand our influence even further, which still only goes as far as Atlas. I believe it would be an incredible addition to your mighty empire."

There was a moments silence. Despite the confidence Adam had put into his small speech, inside he was fully regretting his decision to come forward. He expected Frieza to blast him away at any moment.

However, the tyrant did not do that. Instead, he contemplated the proposal carefully.

"It seems someone is wearing bigger britches now," he said, his voice condescending, "And I suppose you plan to do this all on your own?"

Adam froze, feeling his fear take over. He had hoped that Frieza would assume he needed troops, but if that wasn't the case…

"If I may, my lord," a voice behind him spoke.

He turned to see Ginyu, posing flamboyantly and looking up at Frieza. His face however was quite serious.

"I would be willing to join Adam on this expedition and make sure he does right by you!"

Adam stared at the Captain speechlessly. He wanted to say something, anything to thank him, but he couldn't put it into words.

Lord Frieza suddenly rose from his throne. He looked down at his two generals, one groveling and one posing. His face was menacing, his eyes ice cold. For a few moments, the duo was still, waiting for judgment to be brought down.

Then Frieza smiled cruelly.

"Well, I suppose that an operation of that magnitude would be beneficial to us. Very well then you two, I grant you permission to take the attacks squads prepared for you and take them to where you desire."

Ginyu and Adam exhaled deeply. Frieza noticed this and his tone suddenly became hard once more.

"But, do understand that I will only accept absolute success. Anything short of that will be punishable by death. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, my lord!" his subordinates said in unison.

Frieza continued, "I also want you to head out tonight. Go to med bay and rejuvenate yourselves. Then grab the troops and depart."

They nodded once more with Adam proclaiming, "Thank you for this opportunity, my lord. I promise to show the fruits of my training."

"Yes!" Ginyu said, his old excitement in him once more, "This marks the first mission of the new Ginyu Force!"

Adam growled in annoyance.

"Still not going to be part of your stupid force."

Ginyu sighed, as if pitying Adam.

"It was worth a shot."

* * *

"This has to be the weirdest friendship circle I have ever stumbled across."

Dende nodded at Qrow's words as they stood on the patio, staring as the training fighters sat around in a circle, eyes closed and silently concentrating. When Qrow had arrived just moments before, returning from his mission, he had asked Dende how long they had been like this and the small Namekian had replied saying that it had been nearly five hours.

"You're really telling me that they have been spending almost half of the todays training session sitting in a circle?" he asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Dende said, "In the morning, they were doing much of the same as yesterday. Then, Goku told everyone to stop. He said that, seeing their massive improvement, he wanted to test them even harder and decided to bring them all into one massive image training session."

Qrow stared at the circle for a few more seconds before saying quietly, "So they are mentally linked together…," he shook his head and took a seat on the picnic table.

"How much longer?" he asked, "I have info that I need to share."

Dende shrugged.

"I don't want to disturb them in case it freaks them out. But I don't think much longer."

Qrow huffed but did not say anything else. Dende sighed himself, wondering what information Qrow had to offer them. He decided not to ask now, opting to wait for the everyone. So, he sat beside the older Huntsmen and played Solitaire (Gohan had taught him to pass the time) with a deck of cards.

Meanwhile, in a small dark pocket dimension created by the mind, a raging training session was underway, though it really resembled more of a full-scale war than training.

On the ground, the Huntsmen in training were racing about, ducking and rolling as they dodged the attacks sent by Vegeta, who was flying above them all and sending a massive barrage of Ki blasts all over. A few tried to counter act his attacks. Weiss used her glyphs to speed her up and launch her toward the Prince, but he deftly sent a blast directly at her, knocking her out of the air and causing her to crash hard. Nearby, an enraged Ruby used her own Semblance to charge Vegeta, swerving through the attacks. But, before she could even get near, she was sent back to the ground by Gohan, who had flown in from her other side and kicked her down.

Meanwhile, the likes of Yang, Nora and Ren were scrambling to dodge Vegeta's attacks when they were confronted by none other than Goku. The Saiyan crouched into a fighting stance, grinning all the while, showing his enjoyment of the training. Yang and Nora grinned right back, the challenge of the session energizing them. They charged forward, fists pulled back and ready to perform the fast-paced combat that had been practicing. However, despite being very fast and powerful, they were hardly any match. Goku didn't lose his grin as he blocked both their flurry of kicks and punches, not even backing up a step. As they engaged, Ren circled around, using his improved speed to become a green blur. He watched the fight intently, waiting for the perfect chance and soon saw it and suddenly leapt forward, his pistols blazing. Goku grabbed Yang's arm as she punched and literally used the arm to swing her straight in Ren's direction. The two Huntsmen had not time to react before they crashed into each other and rolled around on the floor.

"Hey! Don't forget me!"

Nora suddenly closed her eyes, concentrating on something. She then pulled out her hammer and raised towards the "sky" of the dimension. Though nothing appeared, thunder boomed, and a bolt of lightning suddenly came down and blasted the orange haired Huntsmen. Instead of frying her, it crackled around her and she opened her eyes, grinning excitedly, feeling her Semblance take in the electricity and boost her body.

Goku smiled proudly, seeing Nora using her mind to conjure up things in the dimension. Then he heard a loud roar behind him and turned to see Yang staggering up, her aura alight and red. She gently placed Ren a few yards away where he lay coughing a little, trying to recover. Then she locked her now red eyes on him and grinned just like Nora.

"I see you guys have used your Semblances as power multipliers," Goku said, his voice brimming with excitement, "But can you take me down with them?"

The two girls charged forward, twice as fast and powerful than before. Goku raised both his arms and blocked Nora's hammer with one and Yang's fist with the other. A resounding shockwave sounded from both sides. Despite this, the Saiyan only smiled wider and engaged the two once more in fast paced combat. Even with their Semblances boosting them, Yang and Nora were outclassed and soon found themselves struggling to keep up.

"This guy is insane!" Nora yelled just before getting punched in the gut and sent flying.

Yang soon joined her, digging her heels into the ground to stop herself. There they stood panting heavily as they stared at Goku, who was walking towards them. Yang glanced behind them at Ruby and Weiss, who were trying, and failing, to get past Gohan as Vegeta watched from above, every once in a while, firing another Ki blast at the trio to scatter them.

"We need to help them," Yang said between pants.

Nora nodded but as they turned, Goku called out, "I wouldn't turn you back on me. Besides, I kinda want to show you my power booster!"

The two Huntsmen turned in time to see him flex out his energy. It began to surround him, at first the color of vanilla. Then he let out a grunt and it suddenly became a crimson color, enveloping his body and creating a power surge.

Before either Yang or Nora could do anything, other than stare in shock, Goku flew towards them with incredible speed and clocked them both. They collapsed to the ground, easily defeated.

"I guess it was a little too early for Kaio-Ken," he murmured, relaxing his energy. He smiled at the girls. Nonetheless, he was extremely proud of their performance.

He glanced over and saw his best friend Krillin nimbly take on the remaining Huntsmen, Jaune, Neo and Oscar. Just like with Ruby and Weiss, they were failing to get past the bald monk, even when using everything they had. Even so, the improvement was visible.

Neo dodged a few strikes, swiping and jabbing with her parasol all the while. She had been nimble before, but now with the training, she was so lithe and flexible, she could attack and dodge at the exact same time. With most other opponents, she would have been nearly unstoppable. Unfortunately for her, Krillin was just experienced in such combat. Yet, he had a proud grin as he fought, clearly happy with the skills she displayed.

However, he did not have much liberty to simply observe. He was forced to jump high into air as Oscar and Jaune closed in from both sides, slashing their weapons across. The former was enveloped in a dark green aura, but Goku knew that it wasn't Ozpin controlling. Oscar had decided to use the experience and power of Ozpin to his advantage and, as a result, learned to channel it. This greatly increased all his abilities and had made him easily on par with the other Huntsmen. Out of all of them, his growth was easily the greatest. From a farm boy with a spirit inside of him to a strong boy channeling the spirits aura.

Despite this, Goku wasn't concentrating on Oscar or Neo. His eyes were focused on the blonde-haired knight as he was slammed down to the ground by a downward kick from Krillin. Since they had started training and Goku had gotten to know his new friends more, something about Jaune puzzled him. During their training sessions, and especially during this session, the Huntsmen had all begun to use their Semblances more often, showing their unique abilities and using them to their advantage. The only reasonable exception was Oscar because he had not had time to master Ozpins aura. But Jaune Arc, a Huntsmen with, Goku sensed, a considerable amount of aura had not shown any signs of a special ability.

That was not to say that Goku was disappointed in him. In fact, the Saiyan was quite impressed with Jaune and respected the boy greatly. Unlike the others, the boy had actually been regularly training before these sessions to make himself stronger as he considered himself a letdown, though nobody would agree with him on that. And while Goku did see that his weapons were not as powerful as maybe someone like Ruby's or Nora's, his physical strength was quite impressive. But Goku now suspected that Jaune's lack of a Semblance is what the knight considered to be the reason for being weaker.

As these thoughts circulated, Goku suddenly felt an energy signature near them that had not been there a few minutes ago. It didn't take him long to recognize it as Qrow's. He sighed a little, reluctant to end the session, but he knew that he had to. He raised his arm and shot a large Ki blast in the air, catching everyone's attention, including Yang and Nora who were finally getting to their feet after being taken out by the Kaio-Ken.

They gathered around him, the Huntsmen all looking deadly tired. The instructors were much better off, but Vegeta looked quite annoyed at the interruption.

"What's the big idea, Kakarot?" he asked angrily, "We were supposed to go on for longer."

"Qrow is here," Goku said simply, "If you concentrate, you can feel his energy."

Vegeta scoffed.

"No wonder I didn't sense it. It's so pathetic."

Yang and Ruby frowned at him, but Krillin jumped in quickly before an argument broke out.

"We should be going then," he said quickly, "If he's back, he must have some information for us."

The Huntsmen nodded in agreement. They began to prepare themselves to exit the Image Training dimension, but Goku suddenly held up a hand.

"Wait," he said, "Before we go, I want to tell our new friends something."

He turned to them all and got a good look at them. It had only been a day ago when they had been about to begin their first session of training and the change was beyond words. Obviously, they looked no different outwardly. But their aura had more than tripled in capacity, their skills had shot up and their faces had gone from scared to capable and ready. Goku couldn't help but smile widely.

"I just need to say how incredibly proud I am of all of you. You may not sense it or even feel but you are almost different people from before. Even I had not expected such a result from this training," he glanced at his fellow instructors, "And I think I speak for all of us when I say that training you has been an absolute treat and that we would be happy to do it again."

Krillin and Gohan nodded, smiling just as widely as Goku. Vegeta just grunted, however his usual scowl was softer than usual, and he faced the Huntsmen directly.

The trainees didn't say anything for a few seconds. Then, simultaneously, they stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"Thank you for training us! We will not let you down in battle!"

Goku chuckled and gave them a thumbs up. Then he closed his eyes and broke the mind link and sent himself and everyone else back to the real world.

Qrow and Dende were playing a game of Go-Fish when the circle of fighters suddenly let out a collective gasp. They jumped in surprise, whipping around to see all of them panting and sweating, even including the likes of Goku, Vegeta, Gohan and Krillin. Keeping a mind connection while training wasn't easy for anybody.

"Dende," Goku said as he recovered, "Could you go around and heal everyone? I think we will need our full strength for what Qrow has to say to us."

The Saiyan looked pointedly at the Huntsmen in question. He nodded grimly.

Dende went around the circle, stopping by each person and healing them with a light green glow from his hands. Soon enough, everyone was good as new and eagerly waiting for the news from Qrow.

As he looked over them, Qrow took a moment to realize just how much stronger the kids had become over the past forty-eight hours. They had caught up to him in strength and even surpassed him. He should have felt a little annoyed at this, but he found himself feeling pride and even a small glimmer of hope. Maybe there was a chance.

He shook himself a little. He had news to deliver and they were definitely not of a lighthearted kind.

"Listen up," he said gruffly, deciding to get straight to the point, "After observing Lionheart at Haven Academy, I have some definitive proof that he is collaborating with Salem."

There was silence. The others all waited with bated breath, wondering what this evidence could be. Qrow reached into his coat pocket and took out his scroll. He flicked the screen a few times before he turned it so everyone could see.

On the display, Lionheart was in his office, sitting behind his desk. Even though the picture was taken from behind, the terrified expression on his face was still evident. The reason for it was quite obvious. Floating before him, tentacles protruding under its sphere head, was a Grimm.

"As far as I know," Qrow explained as the young Huntsmen gasped and Goku frowned distastefully, "That type of Grimm is called a Seer. It can be matched with another one and can be used as communication tools. I believe it is quite safe to assume that if Lionheart has access to one, the person who he is communicating with is the only person that has total control over Grimm."

"Salem," Ruby whispered quietly. Qrow nodded gravely, turning to Goku.

"The Relic is in danger. We cannot waster anymore time Goku. If Salem gets her hands on the Relic, we will be in even more trouble."

The Saiyan didn't hesitate. He nodded, cracking his knuckles. Then he grinned.

"Can't say I'm not excited. I want to see our trainees in a fight! Plus, I have been itching for a fight myself."

Just then, the patio door opened, and they all turned to see Bulma standing in the doorway. She was fully dressed and, slung over her shoulder, was a dangerous looking rifle. In her hand, she held a compass looking device which beeped every few seconds. She looked confident, though it quickly turned into annoyance when she saw the looks, she was receiving.

"What?!" she yelled, causing them all to flinch, including Vegeta, "Did you think you were leaving me behind? I heard everything, and I want in. I'm not being left behind, not after what happened on Namek."

She glared directly at Krillin who chuckled nervously. Beside him, Neo tried to reason with her.

"Please Bulma. It's going to be dangerous and the last thing we want is for you to get hurt."

"That's why I have this," Bulma unslung the rifle and held it up. It was an impressively built, with a scope, laser sights, explosive and incendiary rounds and different types of ammo clips for different types of combat.

Ruby quickly jumped forward, her eyes gleaming as she inspected the weapon. Despite being a young girl of only about sixteen, she had an unhealthy fascination with weapons.

"Where did you get this?" she asked curiously, caressing the sides of the rifle lovingly.

Bulma smirked slightly.

"Well, while you guys were busy training within your minds, I ran out and went to the electronics store to pick up some last-minute things for the Relic Radar. While I was grabbing the stuff I needed, I was telling the old lady who works there about the situation. She has been a huge help after all. Anyway, she went into the back and brought this baby out and said that it used to be her sons. However, since she didn't know how to use it, she said I could take it and use it to help me in my adventures. Pretty neat huh?"

Oscar and Neo exchanged looks.

"That old lady we saved had gun like that the entire time?"

Bulma ignored them and raised the compass device in her hand.

"Speaking of which, this is it. The Relic Radar! Using the dust crystals from Weiss, I was actually able to lock on the four Relic's perfectly."

Qrow sighed a deep sigh of relief. When everyone glanced at him, he said, "If that radar found four Relic's, that means one that was under…," he paused for a second but forced himself to go on, "Beacon is still intact. Frieza's blast must have not reached the basement."

The group nodded in understanding. Bulma then glared around at them all, challenging anyone go against her. No one did.

Goku clapped his hands. Everyone turned to him. His face was suddenly serious and steely.

"Everyone," he said, his tone just as serious, "We need to be prepared for anything there. I doubt it's going to be easy, even with us involved. But," he let out a small smile, "We will all be together. I know that sounds cheesy, but there are a lot of us and all with different and unique abilities."

Jaune shifted slightly. Goku noticed and his eyes twinkled.

"You to Jaune," he said, surprising the knight, "We all have something. Even if it isn't apparent yet."

Jaune looked away, a little embarrassed. However, all his friends smiled at him, Ren and Nora patting him on the back. It was just a small taste of the bond they shared.

Vegeta began walking towards the patio exit, his arms crossed. He glanced behind him and when he noticed no one following he growled in annoyance.

"Are we going or what?!"

Everyone else glanced at each other. Then they all smiled confidently, their minds made up and ready. They all looked up at Vegeta and the even the Prince acknowledged the looks. The looks of warriors ready for battle.

"Right behind you, Prince Vegeta," Yang said.

 **A major battle is approaching! Multiple forces converge on one point, ready to duke it out and claim victory. Who will prevail? What is the fate of the Relic? Find out next time on Dragon Ball R!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello everyone! Welcome back to another chapter of Dragon Ball R! I apologize for this one going out a bit later than others. As I was writing this chapter, something occurred in Word Document and the entire chapter disappeared from the computer, meaning I had to restart from the beginning after already writing more than half of it. Hopefully this doesn't happen again as I have taking new precautions to avoid this incident. Chapters should be coming out more regularly from now on. Other than that, there isn't much more to say so let's get cracking!  
**

 **Last time on Dragon Ball R, forces all around Remnant are preparing for a grand battle at Haven Academy. Goku and Co. have trained hard for the past few days, improving the battle power of the Huntsmen. The likes of Raven and Vernal have made a deal with the servants of Salem to aid each other in obtaining the Relic under Haven. Meanwhile, Piccolo and his faunus friends have been training hard, closing in on Gohan's location, unaware of the battle they will stumble upon. Finally, Adam and Captain Ginyu have convinced Lord Frieza to attack Mistrall and reap the resources of the kingdom. The stage is set for a clash of forces beyond which Remnant has ever seen! Today: The Battle of Haven!**

* * *

The sun was dipping behind the mountains in the distance, casting a dark orange glow over the valley of Mistral. Shadows lengthened steadily, creating creepy images on the ground. Despite being in the middle of several mountain ranges, there was little to no wind blowing by, leaving the city of Mistral in an eerie silence. Even the inhabitants had quieted down, retreating into their abodes and settling down.

The atmosphere was perfect for what would soon come.

At the massive gate of Haven Academy, two guards were leaning against the wall, chatting and trying to pass the time before their shift was finally over. These days, with tourism low and no Huntsmen coming in and out of the academy, guard duty had become quite tedious.

As they chatted, one of them saw something that made him turn. He stared for a long while down the street leading up to the academy. In fact, he stared for so long that his friend soon noticed and asked him what the matter was. The guard simply pointed and as his colleague followed his gaze, he saw what had caught his attention.

Striding up purposefully was a group of people. They walked in a long horizontal line, allowing the guards to get a good look at each of them. What surprised them the most was the strange assortment of people in the group. About half looked to be young teens in different clothing, hefting weapons of all sorts. The other half were unarmed, though they looked physically strong and even to a degree dangerous. However, everyone in the group had the same thing in common. Their faces were set, expressions serious and determined.

As they approached, one of the guards sighed in annoyance. He peeled himself off the wall and met the group a few paces in front of the gate.

"Can I help you?" he asked in a bored tone, "Need directions somewhere?"

One man with tall spiky hair and a strange type of armor on, stepped forward menacingly, cracking his knuckles. He sniggered slightly as the guard instinctively backed away, fumbling with the blaster at his belt.

However, before a conflict could occur, another man in orange martial-arts clothes stepped before his companion, blocking him. The spiky haired man was less than pleased, gritting his teeth in frustration.

"Get out of the way, Kakarot," Vegeta snarled, "We don't have time for this nonsense."

Goku didn't glance back at Vegeta as he said sternly, "We agreed we wouldn't harm anyone innocent. This guard is just doing his job."

The guard looked between the two for a second before brandishing his blaster once more. At this point, his partner had joined him, armed with his own blaster.

"What's the meaning of this?" the other guard said, "State your business or beat it!"

"We need to see Professor Lionheart," Goku said calmly, "We have urgent business with him that needs to be discussed right now."

The guards exchanged suspicious looks. They clearly did not buy what Goku was saying. Especially when he was backed up by almost a dozen other people, most of them armed in some fashion.

"Look buddy," one of the guards said, "We have no news that Professor Lionheart was expecting anyone. Besides, we can hardly allow inside fully armed and possibly dangerous people inside the grounds."

The guard lowered his blaster and began to turn, making his way to a small booth next to the gate.

"Here, I will radio in and say that you request his service. But before then, we can't let you-"

He was cut off abruptly when a sudden blur of movement rushed from behind Goku. Before anyone could do anything, Vegeta swiftly dug his fists into each of the guards guts, pulling out quickly. The guards, too stunned to even groan or say anything, crumpled to the ground, out cold.

Vegeta regarded them coldly for a second before sniggering and making his way through the gate. He had only taken two steps before Goku sped in front of him, blocking his way once more. His expression was angry as he stared down the Prince, who simply scowled back at him.

"What are you doing?!" Goku couldn't help raising his voice, "We agreed not to hurt anyone innocent!"

Vegeta scoffed, gesturing at the unconscious guards.

"Those buffoons would have wasted too much of our time! We don't have time to wait and obey their ridiculous protocols."

"But you didn't have to hit them like that!" Goku countered, his anger not abating, "You could have easily killed them!"

Behind the two, the rest of the group came up. Vegeta ignored them, still scowling up at Goku.

"You're too soft, Kakarot! We don't have time for this!"

From the group, an unlikely person stepped up in Vegeta's defense. Qrow looked a little reluctant to say what he wanted to, but he sighed deeply and turned to Goku.

"As much as I hate to agree with Vegeta on anything, he does have a point here. We need to reach Lionheart before he has a chance to do anything dangerous. As long as these guards aren't dead, we should get moving quickly."

The other members of the group nodded in agreement, though they did look anxiously at the still unconscious guards. Goku exchanged one last angry look with Vegeta before walking to the guards and picking them up. He gently carried them to the security booth and placed them inside. Then he returned to the group and together they have headed inside the academy.

Just like the time Qrow and Bulma had visited, the campus was extremely beautiful. Everything was pristine and clean with not a speck of imperfection. Despite this, the people who had never been to Haven paid the beauty little thought. If anything, the silent campus they walked through was more eerie than beautiful. Especially with the orange glow upon the ground slowly turning red as the sun sank lower.

Qrow led the group down the path he and Bulma had taken their first time around and the group followed him steadily, no one exchanging any words. As they walked, Qrow suddenly began walking faster, first going at a brisk jog and then a full sprint. The others adjusted behind him and the entire group was soon sprinting level with him, reaching the main tower in a matter of seconds.

As they reached the doors, Qrow branched away, plastering himself against the wall adjacent to the doors. Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Neo, Dende, and Bulma joined him on his side while the rest of the Huntsmen sidled up against the wall on the other side, waiting for the signal to barge in.

"Alright," Qrow said quietly, "Are we all ready?"

Everyone nodded. It was then they noticed one member who hadn't joined them up against a wall. The Prince of Saiyan's simply smirked at their display before marching up to the double doors and, before anyone could react, punched them clean off their hinges. The ferocious entrance emitted a loud BOOM that echoed around the academy and was sure to be heard for miles around.

"Enough of this foolishness," he grunted, "I came here to fight, not sneak around like cowards."

He strode inside, leaving the others to groan in annoyance. However, they had little choice but to follow him inside.

Bulma hadn't noticed the first time, but the lobby to the academy was actually quite elaborate. A large dome roof towered over the room, giving it the feel of a mini cathedral. The center of the quad was quite plain, just a marble floor with no furniture. However, at the back end of the room, two flights of stairs led up to a second level about midway between the floor and the ceiling. Between the stairs, a large statue of a woman stood, holding up a massive plate like platform. At the chest area, a small hole was visible, and it begged for something to be put inside.

Standing on the second level, nearby the platform the statue was holding up was none other than Professor Lionheart. He looked the same as when Bulma and Qrow had seen him, except for the weapon now strapped on his arm. It looked like a wheel of sorts with one point sticking out one end, aiming down the length of his arm.

He had jumped in surprise when the the doors had been smashed down. Now he trembled in fear as the group walked in, glaring up at him with hard eyes.

"Oh! Oh, my! This is…," Lionheart stuttered trying to say something. His eyes scanned the newcomers, finally falling upon Qrow and he tried for a winning smile.

"Qrow! It's good to see you! What do I owe this pleasure?"

Qrow smirked derisively.

"Give it up, Lionheart. You're not weaving out of this one."

Bulma stepped up, narrowing her eyes up at the headmaster. He met her eyes and gasped a little, recognizing her instantly.

"Tell me, Qrow," Lionheart stammered, trying to avoid the glare he was receiving from Bulma, "What is the meaning of this?"

Before Qrow or anyone else could respond, a silky sweet feminine voice suddenly spoke out.

"Take his advice, Lionheart. Just give up the charade."

On either side of the large room, people stepped out from the shadowy hallways. Ruby and Jaune glowered in anger as Cinder Fall walked out, her face beyond smug. Trailing behind her, looking just as smug, were her teenage lackeys Emerald and Mercury. The latter noticed Yang in the group and gave her an especially evil look, causing the blonde to grit her teeth in fury.

From the other hall, three more people revealed themselves. The scorpion faunus Tyrion looked as crazed as ever, smiling maliciously and licking his lips as he looked upon the group of heroes. Behind him, their faces far more serious, was Raven and Vernal. Qrow and Yang gasped at their appearance, which did bring a slight smirk to Vernal's face.

The servants of Salem lined up across the heroes, facing them and blocking their way to the second level. Both forces stood, glaring at each other for a few moments, memories of past encounters coming to mind and pent up rage boiling to the surface. Even the fighters from another world harbored much resentment towards these tormentors of Remnant. They had heard many stories from the Huntsmen of the atrocities that had committed.

After a long, tense silence, Cinder's face twisted into an evil grin. Her one eye had fallen upon the Huntress she had imagined killing for countless hours during her training.

"Ruby Rose," she said quietly, her voice etched with venom, "I finally get to meet you once more."

Ruby grit her teeth, tightening her hold upon her scythe. On either side, her friends also clenched their weapons, staring back into the eye of the Fall Maiden. Cinder only sneered at the reaction.

"It seems like years have passed since our last encounter. Though, I can still feel the pain you inflicted upon me that day," Cinder's smile melted away, feeling the jagged scar where her left eye had been, "I must say, I thought I would never be able to feel joy or delight again after what you did to me. But now, seeing you here… standing so confidently… I feel a rush of immense pleasure at the prospect of spilling your blood here."

Ruby tensed even harder, her silver eyes becoming stormy. Jaune and Weiss stepped in front of her, pointing their weapons at Cinder.

Tyrion giggled maniacally at this display.

"My, my! Such intense hatred! It's so powerful I can taste it!"

The faunus licked his lips, closing his eyes as if savoring the taste of something delicious. Then he leaned forward, staring right into the eyes of the Huntsmen.

"I must have a taste of one of you! I understand the red one is reserved for Cinder, but you…," his eyes leveled-on Weiss. The Huntress instinctively took a step back, looking suddenly horrified. Then from behind her, two people stepped out to face Tyrion. When he saw who they were, the faunus immediately backed away himself, his lustful look turning into his own fear.

"You… two…!" he stuttered.

Krillin and Gohan glared at him, their fists clenched by their sides. Despite being the two shortest, besides Dende, they emanated an air of such seriousness and power that it unnerved all the servants of Salem.

"We won't take threats to our friends lives lightly," Krillin said, his voice icy.

"If you would like to fight anyone," Gohan said, "You can have another match with us. We would be happy to oblige."

Tyrion clenched his jaw in suppressed rage, tempted to leap at the two. A few feet away, Mercury surveyed the exchange between the two. Then something came to his mind and he turned to Tyrion, his eyebrows raised.

"Is this the kid and dwarf that kicked your ass?" the teen sniggered a little, causing the faunus to snarl, "Man, that is just purely pathetic."

Gohan turned his eyes to Mercury and as he stared at him, the cocky villain slowly felt his confidence leave him. Something in those eyes… they were tinged with power.

"That's enough Mercury," Emerald said next to him, crossing her arms in annoyance, "We have a job to do here."

"Indeed," Cinder agreed, smirking once more, "The Relic of Knowledge needs to be recovered and taken to its rightful master."

She did not say the name of their master, though everyone knew who she referred to. There was another short, dense silence as it seemed both sides were waiting for the other to make a move. The first movement was Goku. But instead of charging forward and attacking, he simply turned to glance at Raven and Vernal, his face softening slightly.

"It seems you weren't kidding about our next meeting not being as friendly."

The Branwen tribe chief scowled back at him.

"I do not wish to fight against the likes of you, Goku. Your power far surpasses ours. Yet, I will if it means keeping my tribe safe."

Next to her, Vernal twitched slightly, her smirk fading. Cinder too looked suddenly less pleased, her eyes narrowing upon Goku. However, before she could say anything, Qrow's voice cut through the air.

"So, you decide to fight on the side of Salem?! Have you lost your mind sister?"

Raven glowered at him and the two Branwen siblings shared a moment of absolute loathing as pent up anger and frustration against one another bubbled to the surface.

Raven was the first to say anything, her voice dripping with malice.

"Strange to be scolded by the man that abandoned his tribe to become a Huntsmen. Especially a Huntsman whose only purpose in life his to be the lapdog of Ozpin."

The tension snapped between the two as Qrow roared in outrage. He charged forward, swinging his broadsword down upon his sister. Raven swiftly unsheathed her own sword and blocked his attack. As the two weapons collided, they pushed hard, trying to overpower the other. Small sparks flew, metal grinding on metal as they pushed even harder, each of their faces clenched tightly and red eyes flaming.

The exchange only lasted a few seconds, yet it felt like hours before the two finally jumped away from each other. They landed with a few meters between them, their weapons still pointing at each other.

The rest of the room was silent. Yang and Ruby watched, their hearts aching as their uncle and, in the formers case, mom clashed blades. Though they did not know Raven nearly as much as Qrow, and Yang even quite disliked her mother, the sight of seeing them fight still pulled at them.

It was not just them. Goku's face had become a grimace of anger. He whirled upon Cinder, his glare of anger so pure that even the Fall Maiden was caught off guard.

"How could you do this?! How could you put family against each other?!"

Cinder was surprised by the sheer ferocity of the question. She had also not expected such a question to be asked in the first place. However, she did not let that show for long. She scowled right back at Goku, her mind thinking of how to respond. The problem was that her own thoughts were in a bit of mess after what Raven had said to Goku.

"Your power far surpasses ours."

Cinder inwardly swore in anger. She had heard that there had been fighters from another world, such as the ones that Tyrion was now snarling at. But she did not realize there was even more. In fact, as she glanced about the crowd, her one eye fell upon the likes of Vegeta and she instantly knew that he was also just like Goku.

These thoughts all rolled around in her head within seconds and she wanted to scream in frustration. The pleasure she had told Ruby about was gone as she realized that if Raven was correct and they were outmatched, they would lose the Relic. But as she stared back into the fierce eyes of Goku, her own anger began to overcome her fear. She would not let them stomp all over her.

Her gaze drifted from Goku and on to Ruby and her friends. As she looked at them, the question that Goku had asked her came back to her. The pleasure returned to her as a memory surfaced in her mind. A memory not unique to her.

She must have been smiling as Goku's brow furrowed deeper and he said, "Something funny?"

"Oh, nothing," Cinder replied, her voice lighter than it had been before, "Just thinking on how to answer your question. You see, someone once asked me if I believed in destiny. I told them I did and to this day, I still do. I believe it is destiny for those siblings to fight. I believe it is destiny for Salem to plunge this godless world into darkness. I believe it is destiny," here she paused, glancing at Ruby and seeing the girls face slacken with absolute rage, "To kill the person you hate most."

Goku was silent. In truth, he did not fully understand what Cinder meant. He did not realize that her words weren't meant for him.

Before he could respond, a white figure suddenly blew past him, charging at full speed towards Cinder. As it did so, Goku heard Weiss and Nora shriek, "JAUNE! NO!"

However, the knight was too blinded by rage to notice or care. He did not stop, his eyes set on Cinder, who smirked as she saw her plan succeed. She raised her arm, lazily layering it with some aura, to block the downward slash Jaune began to do. But it was then that her plan suddenly backfired. She felt a rush of searing pain as Jaune's sword cut right through her aura and dug into her flesh. Screaming in agony, she instantly strengthened her aura, pushing the blade of the sword out before it cut any deeper into her. Jaune jumped back, his hands still gripped tightly around the grip of his sword as he glowered at Cinder with pure loathing.

"Your psychotic bastard," he said, his voice low and full of emotion, "You dare quote Pyrrha?!"

Cinder snarled in response, feeling her aura heal the gaping wound in her arm. It was painful and while it worked, the pain only added to Cinder's rage.

"You filthy brat!" she spat at him, "Do you not know who I am!?"

Around Cinder, a sudden wind picked up, whirling around her in a mini twister. The inside of the room roared with a rushing sound, picking up as the wind swirled faster around the Maiden, lifting her into the air. Jaune glared up defiantly as Cinder glowered down from her miniature twister, her one remaining eye now ablaze with a fiery light. Meanwhile, Emerald and Mercury backed away from their master, not wanting to get in the middle of her display of power.

"I AM THE FALL MAIDEN!" Cinder roared down at Jaune, "I WILL MAKE SURE YOU ROT FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!"

The knight tightened his grip on his sword. He readied himself, ready to charge once more despite the opponent facing him. Then, another person joined his side. He looked to see Ruby, glaring determinedly up at Cinder. While she was not outwardly furious, Jaune could see the turmoil of emotions in her face.

"You underestimate us, Cinder," the scythe wielding Huntress said calmly over the wind, "We are not the same kids you fought back at Beacon. And we will never allow you to insult the name of one our comrades, living or deceased."

There was silence, the wind from Cinder's twister dying down and leaving her suspended in the air with a yellowish glow about her. The Fall Maiden looked down upon Ruby, her anger still brimming at the surface. However, it began fading away as she smirked at the confidence in the girls face and tone.

"Not the same kids that I fought at Beacon? Don't make me laugh. I will admit, your little friend there did surprise me. But I will not let myself make the mistake of letting you do that again."

Ruby and the rest of her friends grit their teeth, feeling the smarting words wash over them. Yang and Nora even began to step forward, reading their themselves and obviously looking to fight. But Goku stepped before them, not allowing them to go any further. He looked up at Cinder himself and despite everything, he grinned slightly.

"I wouldn't brush away what she said, Cinder, was it? They have been training harder than humanly possible to fight you and judging by what I see," he paused for a second, glancing back at his trainees before continuing, "They may surprise you even more and give you a nice run for your money."

Cinder floated back down to the ground slowly, her gaze now fixed on Goku. On either side of her, Emerald and Mercury were crouching in fighting stances, clearly prepared to attack. As she landed, Emerald said to Goku, "I don't think you understand the power that Cinder has. These Huntsmen could never defeat her."

Mercury sneered.

"They couldn't even defeat us. Isn't that right blondie?"

He looked in Yang's direction and the Huntress froze for a second staring at him. Than her face was overcome with fury as she remembered the last time, she and Mercury had met at the Vytal Tournament. She had beaten him, though he had been going easy on her to lose on purpose. Once down, Emerald had used her illusion Semblance to trick Yang into thinking that Mercury was provoking her to attack. It had worked and Yang hit Mercury while he was still down on the ground in front of thousands of onlookers. It had destroyed her reputation and got her thrown out of the tournament entirely, even though she pleaded that Mercury was at fault.

"You bastard," she spat, her voice rising steadily, "YOU BASTARD!"

She took a powerful step forward, ready to charge Mercury. Before she could go any further, a voice stopped her cold.

"Don't let this waste of space get to you."

Vegeta, with his signature scowl, looked at Yang, letting his words wash over her. At first, the Huntress didn't seem to listen, still bearing down on Mercury. Then, she let herself think and breathed a sigh. She glanced over at Vegeta, a small smirk replacing her look of rage.

"Didn't think I would ever hear you discouraging a fight."

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Vegeta said curtly, cracking his knuckles, "I still fully intend on fighting these pathetic cretins. However, it is a warrior's job not to be swayed by meaningless drivel."

Mercury growled in Vegeta's direction.

"Why you…!" the teen took a menacing step forward, but Cinder grabbed his arm, not letting him go any further.

"Control yourself, Mercury," she said sternly, "Don't go looking for fights you can't win."

Mercury looked like he wanted to argue, saying that he could handle Vegeta, but Cinder gave him a withering and he retreated beside her, muttering murderously.

As he did so, Bulma suddenly piped up from the side. Despite the power that had been displayed, she was still confidently standing beside her friends, her rifle in one hand and the other hand on Dende's shoulder, who was looking just as defiantly.

"I know we all want to kill each other and all and I am perfectly happy to let you do so, but can I ask you something Ms. Maiden? Why spend time trying to get this bloody Relic and fight against us when a much larger force hangs over us?"

Cinder turned to the blue haired scientist, raising her eyebrow. She took a second to scan Bulma before snorting derisively.

"And who might you be? You do not seem to look like any sort of fighter, even with that ridiculous firearm of yours. I would mind your tongue if I were you."

Bulma looked taken aback at the remark. The usually feisty woman trembled as Cinder's words struck a nerve that she knew all too well. She was no fighter, definitely nothing like Goku or Krillin and not even like Ruby and her friends. She had come here with them because she had been scared to be left behind and wanted to do everything she could to help. But now… was she only weighing them down?

A person stepped in front of her. The brown and white hair was unmistakable. Cinder gasped slightly as Neo stood in front of Bulma, glaring daggers at the Fall Maiden.

"Neo?" Cinder asked, her smugness giving way to curiosity, "What are you doing here?"

Neo said nothing for a few moments and Cinder sighed in exasperation.

"Yes, I forgot. You can't talk."

"Actually," Neo said, her voice coming from her communication device and startling Cinder, "Thanks to Bulma, I now have a voice. A voice I can use to tell you to watch your own tongue when talking about my friend. You know nothing about the abilities of others, including that of Roman Torchwick."

There was a short silence as Neo glowered at Cinder, who glowered right back. Behind Neo, Bulma stared at the young women who was shielding her, concern etched on her face. Neo was finally going up against the woman who she had sworn revenge against. At a time like this, she hoped that Neo would be able to keep her cool.

"So that's what this is about," Cinder said coolly, "Neo, I hope you understand that I did not kill your boss. If you want the person responsible, you only need to look there."

Cinder pointed at Ruby, who said nothing, though her face tightened with concern and anger. However, she needn't have worried. Neo seemed completely disinterested in Cinder's claim and did not even look over at Ruby.

"I know you sent me and Roman to die that night. You and your cursed master had no use for us, so you sent us with the intent to get rid of us and pin it on Ruby Rose. However," Neo crouched low and aimed her parasol towards Cinder, "You failed and as a result, lost me as an ally. You will pay dearly for killing my boss."

Cinder snarled in contempt, outstretching her hand. Shimmering crystals began to manifest and form into a long-jagged spear. Around her, the over servants of Salem began preparing for battle as well, staring down their wanted opponents. Mercury cocked the two shotgun gauntlets around his ankles, staring down Yang who returned the look. Emerald unhooked her two green bladed shotguns connected to chains wrapped around her arms. She glared pointedly at Weiss, who noticed without trouble and unslung her rapier in response. Tyrion licked his lips, his excitement returning as he focused on Nora and Ren, deciding to try avoiding the more powerful fighters for now.

"It seems the time for talking has passed," Cinder said quietly, her eyes flicking from one hero to another, "You may have powerful fighters on your side but that does not mean we will let you get the Relic. And to answer your question," she turned to Bulma, "Salem believes that completing our goals is the key to defeating Frieza. I presume that is who you were referring to."

The whole room tensed at the name. Even Cinder's colleagues shifted uncomfortably at the name. Goku looked thoughtfully at Cinder. Then he sighed, crouching in a fighting position himself, the enjoyment of the fight leaving him. This fight had become much more emotional now. Next to him however, Vegeta smirked.

"I don't care what you morons believe in. As far as I'm concerned, your blocking somewhere we need to be. Prepare yourselves to face the Prince of all Saiyan's!"

"DO I HERE A CERTAIN SMUG MONKEY?!"

The sudden voice rang from outside the building. Vegeta and everyone else whipped around to stare at the entrance where the doors had been knocked down. But no one was there.

Then, a few feet away from the opening, the wall suddenly exploded, spraying rocks and dust into the room. Around them, the building shook slightly from the missing section of the wall. As dust wafted from the rubble, both heroes and villains shielded their faces from the incoming cloud, protecting their eyes.

After a few seconds, the dust began clearing and chunks of the blown apart wall stopped falling. In the new opening, two silhouettes could be seen standing in a settling cloud of dust. One was much larger, broad shouldered and muscular. The other was leaner, his dark clothes clear through the dust.

"Now how is that for an entrance?!" Captain Ginyu asked, stepping out from the dust cloud and revealing himself to the room. Adam did the same and all around the room, gasps of astonishment could be heard.

"Is that you… Hazel?!" Cinder asked, her eye widening at Ginyu.

"Adam!" Yang snarled at the bull faunus, who regarded her coolly.

Meanwhile, Goku, Vegeta, Krillin and Gohan were staring intently at Ginyu, sensing his power signature and finding something oddly familiar about it. They had never seen this man before, that's for sure. But nonetheless, the signature felt like…

Vegeta swore under his breath, being the first to recognize who it was.

"Damn… it's Ginyu."

Ginyu sneered at him, confirming his suspicion. Gohan and Krillin grit their teeth in anger, remembering the last time they had come to blows with Ginyu.

As for Goku, he stared in shock at the Captain before exclaiming loudly, "Wait! No way! It really is that guy!"

"That's Captain Ginyu to you!" Ginyu said irritably before posing flamboyantly and continuing, "But yes, it is I! And your next line will be, 'How are you here?!'"

"How are you here?!" Goku echoed before clapping his hands to his mouth. Ginyu threw his head back and laughed as Goku began racking his brain.

After a few moments of not coming up with anything, Vegeta snarled impatiently and smacked Goku upside the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You really are a moron, Kakarot," Vegeta yelled, "He obviously used his body change technique when coming to this world and took this body."

"You should know of all people," Krillin said, his face deadpanning slightly, "He used that trick on you."

Goku looked at him blankly. Then it finally hit him, and he chuckled in embarrassment.

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, I must have just forgotten!"

Next to him, Weiss snorted derisively at this.

"Don't try pulling that, Goku! You remembered when I asked you about where you got the injury you had when I first met you! You also…"

Weiss's face suddenly became even paler than usual. Ruby glanced at her in concern, wondering what had caused her friend to go so abruptly silent. Goku, however, suddenly remembered the day after he and Weiss had escaped her mansion. The power he had felt from the forest, terrorizing the location they had just left.

Too late, he tried saying something but was cut off as Ginyu suddenly spoke up. As they had been talking, he had been distracted by Weiss and had used their conversation as a chance to peer at her. Something had been oddly familiar about the girl.

"I feel as if I have seen you before girl," he said gruffly, peering even closer at the Huntress.

Weiss backed off, though her face was beginning to contort into rage as she slowly remembered what Goku had told her that day in the forest.

Adam, who had been watching all this time, chuckled a little to himself. He turned to his comrade and said in a sly, mocking voice, "I don't think you have ever seen this girl in particular. But you have seen her family in person."

Ginyu glanced at him for a second, beginning to put two and two together. Then grinned cruelly, realizing the truth all too clearly.

"Ah, yes! I remember now! That mansion that I was ordered to invade where we found all that money and crystals…," he chuckled a little, sneering in Weiss's direction, "That was your mansion! The people we found there looked an awful like you. Silver hair. Expensive dresses. Can't mistake it!"

Weiss trembled, her eyes dilated in fear and anguish as Ginyu chortled once more. Goku watched, his own face tightening into a grimace of anger. However, before he could continue, Adam spoke up once more, his tone a low evil hum.

"I wonder if the girl knows what you did to her family… would you like to tell her Ginyu? Or shall I? I would be more than happy to disclose the information."

Ginyu thought for a seconds before nodding to Adam.

"Go right ahead, my boy. I see you will get great enjoyment out of it."

"You are too kind," Adam said with mock politeness before turning back to Weiss, "Poor little rich girl… though I guess saying your rich is not strictly true anymore. Not with your family executed and their wealth taken and being used for a greater purpose."

There was a loud clatter as Weiss's rapier fell to the ground. She shook violently, her knees beginning to give way. Goku and Ruby kept her upright before she could fall, whispering words of comfort. Meanwhile, the other heroes glowered at Adam and Ginyu, who were chortling at the Huntresses reaction.

"Bastards," Yang muttered, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Why execute an innocent family?!"

Adam stopped laughing, turning to face Yang. He said nothing at first, though he turned his head to look at Yang's robotic arm. Despite the Grimm mask that he wore, Yang knew that he was examining it. She felt her other arm shake, the sudden fear and anxiety she had harbored ever since that night rushing back to her.

"So, you're still standing and fighting," Adam said quietly, his tone much more serious, "Granted, that will change soon enough. Unfortunately, I don't see the one I'm looking for here with you at the moment. Maybe still crying over her dead parents in Menagerie."

Yang froze her eyes widening as she realized who the bull faunus was referring to. Ruby and the rest of Team RNJR also put it together, staring in horror at Adam.

"Blake…," Ruby said quietly, still supporting Weiss. Then her face contorted into rage and she thrust her head forward and yelled, "WHAT DID YOU TO HER?!"

Adam smiled slyly, his face not showing a speck of remorse or concern.

"I did nothing but follow orders. Just as Ginyu followed orders to execute the Schnee family along with General Ironwood. Us generals have little authority in our army. We have a master to report to."

At the word "army" the everyone in the room finally looked behind the two newcomers and saw a sight that only made their chests tighten further. Outside, the academy courtyard was completely unrecognizable due to the carpet of white armored soldiers standing to attention. Above them, three dropships floated in one spot while a fourth one began making its way towards another destination. The direction it was heading in was straight for the city of Mistral.

"A full-scale invasion…," Cinder Fall muttered in shock.

Vegeta was the first to snap out of the daze that had fallen upon the room. He grit his teeth in a growl, staring straight at Captain Ginyu.

"Your master… you mean Him, don't you?"

Ginyu frowned down at the prince, clearly unhappy with the wording of his question.

"How dare you address our Lord as 'Him'! But I know that you know exactly who our master is, Prince Vegeta," he mockingly spat out the name before rising to his full height and proclaiming to the room at large, "We are the loyal and elaborate generals of Lord Frieza's army, the Frieza Force!"

Behind Ginyu, a cry of "ALL HAIL LORD FRIEZA!" rose from the army. The cry resonated throughout the room and especially throughout the occupants, who were all solely fixed on the new enemy force. Momentarily, the Relic had been pushed out of everyone's minds. Right now, the forces of Frieza were all that mattered.

After a long, dense and terrifying silence in which Ginyu and Adam sneered deeply, Vegeta once more broke the silence. He chortled to himself in a cocky manner, earning himself scowls from the two generals.

"You believe you, your little sidekick and army can faze us, Captain Ginyu? It seems that new body of yours has even less brains than the one you had before. Your powers are too weak for me or Kakarot."

Ginyu and Adam exchanged a look. Then they just began chuckling once more. Vegeta grimaced in annoyance as his claim was laughed at.

"Oh, Prince Vegeta," Ginyu said, bowing to maximize the mockery, "It seems you are mistaken. Me and my friend here are no longer the same as we were before. Intense training under Lord Frieza has made sure of that. However, I wouldn't worry too much about your power against ours."

"What are you talking about?" Vegata snarled, though for the first time, he felt a cold sensation of trickle down his spine.

"As we speak, Lord Frieza has been informed that we have found the very scum he has been wanting to find for so long," Ginyu said jubilantly, taking pleasure in seeing Vegeta's face become paler by the second, "He will be on his way soon to… personally tend to your fate."

The Huntsmen and servants of Salem stared at Ginyu, fear building up fast in all their hearts. Some looked to the faces of Goku and his companions to find comfort, only to see they were just terrified.

Ginyu and Adam sniggered at the deafening silence that followed, satisfied to see the absolute hopelessness falling upon the group.

"Isn't it a shame dear Huntsmen," Adam said tauntingly to the young trainees, "You have followed these people, believing you had a chance only to be stomped out. Even you, Cinder Fall, are completely helpless."

Cinder snarled, but her body trembled, betraying her fear. She wasn't the only one. All the young Huntsmen who had trained hard to this day were suddenly losing their resolve. The reality of what was going to happen was just too crushing.

Then, from the silence of despair, a voice suddenly spoke, quiet but steady.

"If that's the case, then it's time we get serious."

It was Goku. He stepped up to face Ginyu and Adam, his face stony. A second later, he was joined by Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin, all sharing the same steely determination. The two generals regarded them smugly, unfazed by the sudden show of determination.

"Serious, huh?" Ginyu asked, "Do you really think that will save you?"

"I didn't say that," Goku responded, "But there is no way we are going to just sit here and wait while your army terrorizes innocent people. And since Frieza is already on his way…"

Goku paused and closed his eyes. The other three did the same and tensed their bodies. At first, nothing happened. Then, slowly, the ground began to shake slightly, rising in intensity each second. Around the four fighters' bodies, a white energy began flowing around them, wild and erratic. At this point, the tremor was reaching a high point, causing some of the others to stumble and brace themselves.

All of a sudden, all four yelled and let forth a shockwave of energy which collectively almost toppled Ginyu and Adam. They straightened up once more, glaring angrily as the ground began to settle. Before them, Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, and Krillin were standing tall and proud, their bodies shrouded in transparent white energy that made a whooshing sound as it fluctuated around their bodies. At their feet, small circular craters had been formed where they stood, caused by the power fluctuation.

Goku grinned a little as Ginyu and Adam backed up slightly, crouching in fighting stances.

"We can fight using our true power," Goku finished calmly.

He glanced over at Ruby and her friends and his expression grew serious once more.

"Listen to me carefully. We will take care of Ginyu, Adam and the Frieza Force. You guys focus on getting the Relic. I know you are scared about Frieza coming, but don't think about it right now. I swear to you that whatever happens, we will not let anyone die here today!"

Adam snorted, unsheathing his katana.

"Don't make promises you can't keep."

Goku said nothing. Instead, he suddenly launched forward into the air. He flew above Ginyu and Adam, causing them to turn around in surprise. Instead of attacking them though, Goku flew up to the three stationary dropships, paused for a second, then flew after the dropship that left towards the city, his energy creating a trail behind him.

"Bastard!" Ginyu swore, "He's trying to stop our forces in the city! I will make sure-"

Before he could finish, he was slammed through the opening he came in by a swift body slam from Vegeta. He soared a few hundred feet, finally stopping by crashing into an academy building. Vegeta let out a laugh of smug satisfaction before following the Captain.

"FORCES!" Adam roared behind him, "ATTACK THESE PESTS!"

He turned back around just in time to receive a double kick from both Gohan and Krillin. He gasped in shock, his aura flickering, not having time to recover before Gohan swung his foot into his side and sent him flying out into the courtyard, Krillin flying with incredible speed to give chase.

Gohan was about to follow but took a moment to blast a Ki blast at an incoming wave of soldiers. They screamed in surprise as the energy blast sent them flying, their high-tech armor not doing much to protect them.

"Ruby!" Gohan yelled to the Huntress, seeing her staring dumbly as she watched her instructors do battle, "The Relic! Now!"

Ruby shook herself from a daze, as did her friends around her. They whirled around and saw the servants of Salem coming to their senses as well. Cinder smiled cruelly in Ruby's direction.

"Lionheart," she ordered loudly, "Open the way to the Relic. Everyone else engage these foolish Huntsmen."

Mercury, Emerald, and Tyrion smirked in acknowledgment, readying themselves for combat. At the same time, the young Huntsmen did the same, choosing their targets carefully.

Cinder glared down at Ruby, Jaune, and Neo, the fire in her eye blazing with passion.

"You three… are mine to kill," she hissed. Then she gripped her crystal spear tightly and charged forward. She engaged Jaune first, slashing the spear with quick and precise movements, causing the knight to go on the defensive and use his shield and sword to block her attacks. Ruby and Neo tried to charge her from either side, but Cinder summoned a powerful gust of wind around her, knocking them back. She then conjured a ball of fiery aura in her hand and fired it right into Jaune. He blocked it, but the force of the energy ball pushed him back hard until he smashed into a wall.

Cinder had no time to admire her handiwork as Ruby and Neo came in for another attack, this time picking up the speed and getting up close and personal before Cinder could blow them back. As a result, Cinder had to summon another crystal spear in her other hand to block Neo's parasol while using the one she was already holding to block Ruby's attack. The trio pushed hard against each other, the two attackers beginning to get the better of Cinder.

"It seems you two have been training hard," the Fall Maiden grunted, "But you have still a long way to go if you want to fight a Maiden!"

She suddenly shone brightly, blinding Neo and Ruby for a second. Using this to her advantage, Cinder swung her spear like a bat into Ruby's stomach, knocking the wind out of the Huntress and sending her rolling. She tried to do the same with Neo, but the parasol wielding woman was more prepared. The moment the spear made contact, her entire body disintegrated into shards of glass, leaving no trace of the woman. Cinder had a split-second to realize what was going on before she was hit hard in the back as Neo materialized behind her and attacked.

Cinder stumbled forward a few feet, but kept her footing and, in her rage, swung her spear wildly behind her. Neo simply dodged the attack and began darting around Cinder, using her great speed to out maneuver her opponent and score quick jabs.

Unfortunately, while effective at first, it wasn't enough to cause much damage to Cinder, especially with her large amounts of aura. Growing impatient and increasingly frustrated, Cinder decided to start using her powers more seriously. She concentrated and her body began to glow brightly once more, this time with the color of the evening sun. Then, just as Neo darted forward for another attack, the Maiden released outward, and Neo was caught in a scorching hot wave of energy. She cried out in pain, falling back and feeling her aura begin to work, trying to heal and re-energize her.

Cinder smirked, bearing down on Neo. However, she was swiftly interrupted as Ruby attacked once more, firing a shot from the sniper attachment in her scythe. The shot caught Cinder by the arm, making her yelp and snarl in the Huntresses direction. In response, Ruby suddenly morphed into a swirling red tornado of rose petals and sped towards her opponent, using her Semblance to fly around her. Cinder just sneered as she was surrounded by the red blur, unfazed by the display.

"Using the same tactics as Neo won't work you know, Ruby," she mocked, summoning another ball of fiery aura and flinging it at the blur.

Ruby narrowly dodged it before continuing to circle even faster, not closing in to attack. Cinder grit her teeth in annoyance, preparing herself to send out another wave of aura. Then, just as she was about to attack, Ruby suddenly backed off, revealing Jaune charging forward. Cinder had not time to react before the knight body slammed into her and slashed his sword across her during her daze. She shrieked in pain as the sword strike cut through her aura and was able to graze her skin. She tried to retaliate quickly by jabbing the crystal spears towards him, but another powerful force slammed her from behind and sent her sprawling a few feet.

As Cinder spluttered, clambering to her feet, she heard the voice of Ruby behind her say, "You need to be more aware of who you're fighting against. Especially when you decide to take three of us at once."

Cinder clenched her fist, charging up her aura into it. As she did so, she chuckled cruelly, turning to look at Ruby, Jaune and Neo.

"Cheeky. Real cheeky. But you forget yourself, Ruby Rose. No matter how strong you become, a Huntress is no match for a Maiden."

"Then why are you on the ground?" Jaune asked coolly.

Cinder roared in outrage, leaping to her feet and firing the charged-up aura she had been storing up in a blast of orange fire. The attack flew towards her target, bursting into a ring of fire and steam before imploding completely and sending columns of fire everywhere.

"Heh, heh," Cinder chortled, her arm still outstretched as she watched the smoke clear, "Foolish kids."

She continued to laugh until the smoke settled and she looked closely at where she had aimed. Her eyes widened in shock.

Crouching there, his shield up in front of him, was Jaune Arc. He was panting heavily, his aura flickering dangerously. But he was physically unhurt. In fact, he looked up and grinned at the stunned Cinder.

"You have no idea about the training we went through," he said, "It put our very lives to the test. There is no way we are going to just let you kill us after trying so hard."

Cinder digested these words, growling as her anger once more took over. She began stepping forward, ready to charge at Jaune, but then finally realized that he was crouching there alone. The only thing that was next to him was a few shards of glass and a few rose petals.

Putting two and two together, Cinder could only brace her aura as Ruby and Neo attacked from above, striking her hard and forcing her to her knees. Once more, the three engaged in a power struggle, but this time Jaune ran forward, raising his sword and aiming straight for Cinder. The Fall Maiden saw this out of the corner of her one eye and, realizing she was trapped, roared in defiance, letting out another massive blast of hot aura. This time the Huntsmen anticipated the move and backed off, avoiding the heat wave. When they looked back at Cinder, however, they realized the fight was just about to begin in earnest.

"I will admit," Cinder said, floating above them, columns of fire swirling around her, "I have underestimated you. It seems your training has truly borne fruit. But that only means I have no reason to hold back. Prepare yourselves for the full power of the Legendary Fall Maiden!"

Ruby tightened her grip on her weapon. Sweat was beginning to trickle down her neck, though it not as much exhaustion as her now well trained and refined aura was keeping her energized. But it did not help her nerves as she stared down a power, she had only seen in fairy tales. The power that was wielded by a woman who only desired her own death.

"Hey."

Ruby felt someone nudge her shoulder. She glanced over to see Jaune smiling at her. He looked battered from being smashed into a wall and despite blocking Cinder's last attack, his hair was singed at the top. Despite this, his face was nothing but confident.

"Don't go losing faith now. We are just getting started. Don't let her flashy tricks get the better of you."

"Think about our trainers," Neo piped up on her other side, "They trained us to fight battles such as this. I mean look at us. We would have already been fried if we had never trained. Now those same people, our mentors and friends, are out there fighting against an entire army. We have to do our part and defeat these villains!"

Ruby looked at her two friends gratefully. She nodded confidently and felt her hands steady themselves. She looked up at Cinder, her mind clear and ready.

"Let's do this!" she yelled, and together with Neo and Jaune, she leapt forward just as Cinder did, ready to engage once more.

* * *

Meanwhile, only a few meters away, two brawlers were duking it out hard. Shotgun blasts fired from both fighters, though on two different locations. One was using a single gauntlet on one of her arms as she fought using hand to hand combat. The other wore one gauntlet on each of his ankles, stretching them high to use them to the best of their ability. As a result, it was a strange but beautiful dance of arms versus legs.

Mercury grit his teeth in frustration as another attempt to smash Yang upside the head with his heel was blocked almost effortlessly. He tired changing it up, swinging his legs low to sweep the Huntress of her feet. However, Yang jumped high and brought her robotic arm down towards Mercury's chest. He tried to cross his arms and block the attack, but the punch was powerful enough to break through. He grunted in pain as he fell to the ground, his aura flickering from the impact.

Yang stood over him, her face dark and hard. Mercury snarled up at her, staggering as he picked himself up. For a moment, the two stared at each other, pure hate flowing between them. Then Yang smirked at Mercury.

"Seems you're having some trouble grey boy."

"You shut your mouth," Mercury spat, "I don't know how you got this much stronger, but it doesn't matter. I too have trained under powerful masters!"

Yang scoffed at this, making Mercury even angrier.

"Here's the thing. Unlike your masters, my master is a prince. And unlike your masters, he isn't afraid of breaking a few bones as long as it means I get stronger."

Mercury's face hardened, turning beat red as his rage completely overcame him. He crouched low, ready to attack once more, cocking the gauntlets around his ankles.

"OH, YOU THINK YOUR CUTE DON'T YOU?!"

Yang sneered, crouching as well.

"Bitch," she said, her voice deadly serious, "I'm adorable."

They launched themselves at each other once more, engaging in an exchange of blows that resonated loudly on impact. As they did so, Yang once more began showing the fruits of her training, pushing Mercury back and landing more hits on him.

Despite the pure unadulterated anger that was going through her, Yang suddenly felt a small sense of enjoyment as she fought. It quickly increased and she realized with a pang of a shock that she really was beginning to derive pleasure from the fight. Not the pain she inflicted, but the fight itself.

"He really has rubbed off on me," she thought, thinking about Vegeta. A few days ago, this sensation and the fact that she knew Vegeta felt the same when he fought would have probably disgusted her to a degree. But now, as she continued to take control of the fight against Mercury, she did not mind it. In fact, she embraced the feeling and let it flow into her punches, making them only stronger.

* * *

A few meters away, Emerald wasn't doing much better than her comrade. She fired her dual shotguns at Weiss, trying to get a substantial hit. However, Weiss either used her rapier to simply block the shots with deadly precision or used the dust in her rapier to create walls of ices.

Emerald tried to change her strategy. She stopped firing her shotguns and instead rushed forward, closing the distance between herself and the Huntress. Once up close, she began slashing at her, using the hooked blades protruding from the shotguns. She even began letting go of the shotguns entirely, using the chains wrapped around her arms to swing the weapons in arcing slashes.

However, Weiss was unfazed. If anything, Emerald's change in tactics gave her an advantage. She blocked the blades with her rapier, elegantly swerving between the strikes and waiting for the perfect opportunity to counter. It didn't take long to find it.

Swinging her arms expertly, Emerald swung her weapons around the blade of Weiss's rapier, coiling the chains around it and tightening. She smirked in triumph, seeing Weiss trying to pull her weapon out. But then, she suddenly felt the chains around her arms become colder. At the same time, she saw the rapier glow faintly blue and steam slightly with cold air as ice formed upon it, spreading to the hooked shotguns and the chains around the blade.

All of a sudden, Emerald was the one trying to free her weapons from Weiss's grasp. She tugged desperately, feeling the chains around her arms grow steadily colder as the ice continued to spread down the length of the chains. But they never reached her because Weiss then jumped up and planted her feet into Emerald's face. Before Emerald realized what was happening, Weiss used her face as a jump pad to spring back. The power of the jump pulled the chains wrapped around Emerald's arms right off and the servant of Salem was sent flying backwards from the momentum of the shove, crashing into a nearby wall.

Weiss deactivated the ice dust on her rapier, allowing Emerald's weapons to unfreeze and clatter to the ground at her feet. As she did so, she watched quietly as Emerald extracted herself from the wall and clambered to her feet. Despite her aura flickering, the green haired teen was already bruised in many areas.

Emerald looked up at Weiss, suppressing the urge to cry out in pain as her aura began mending some of the nastier wounds. As she looked into the eyes of the Huntress, she saw the grief and anger behind them. She remembered what Hazel-, no, what that imposter in Hazel's body had said about executing her family.

"So, she's taking out all this anger out on me, is she?" Emerald thought angrily, "Well then, let's give her a target that she would be more inclined to fight."

Emerald concentrated hard, imaging the features of Hazel. Even though he really isn't Hazel anymore, it wasn't too difficult since she the body was still exactly the same as his. Then, stretching out her aura, she imagined the world in Weiss's eyes and inserted the figure of Ginyu in it.

In the real world, Weiss gasped in shock, signaling to Emerald that her Semblance had worked perfectly. The Huntress was now seeing the illusion of Ginyu, though to her it would look as real as life. Emerald smirked, feeling the tide of the battle shift to her. She stealthily began circling around Weiss, the white-haired girl too distracted by the illusion to notice.

Emerald watched in satisfaction as the Huntress's face contorted into rage, uttering a cry of fury and despair. Weiss charged the illusion, slashing her rapier across it. The illusion simply faded into a light smoke and Emerald took her chance to strike. She leapt from behind, picking up her dropped weapons as she did so. As Weiss stared at the dissipating smoke, Emerald raised both of her arms, preparing to slash both of her shotgun blades downward. Just as she brought them down though, Weiss's rapier suddenly appeared behind her and blocked them. Emerald jumped back in surprise, gaping as Weiss turned to face her. The Huntress's face was even darker than before, and Emerald felt a small pang of fear.

"W-what? How?!" she asked, her voice higher than she had hoped.

Weiss was silent for a second. Then she raised her rapier, pointing it straight at Emerald.

"Training is not just about becoming stronger physically," she said quietly, "It's also about being smarter and more mentally prepared. Your tricks aren't much when I can see through them. Of course, you didn't realize that and blindly attacked after I seemed to have been distracted."

Emerald trembled slightly. She tried to come up with a retort, but Weiss's dark expression was too distracting. As she stumbled over her thoughts, Weiss crouched down a little, still pointing her rapier at her.

"But that does not mean that I am not angry about what you tried to do. My feelings are in turmoil and you tried to take advantage of that. Don't think I'm going to go easy on you now just because I am a Huntress. Right now, I don't care about such titles."

Emerald crouched down as well, gulping at the cold words. However, she did not back away. She was not going to flee from this girl that was essentially moaning about her dead family. She tightened her grip on her weapons before charging forward once more.

As Emerald approached, Weiss closed her eyes, calming herself and controlling her aura. She needed to focus on the fight at hand. She would deal with the reality of what she had been informed of later. Right now, she needed to help Ruby, Goku and all her other friends.

She opened her eyes, clear of darkness and anger this time. Her expression became one of resolute determination as she rushed forward to meet Emerald in combat once more, leaving the dark demons behind her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Tyrion was getting more than he bargained for. Once the battle had started, he had gone straight for Ren and Nora, seeing them as easy targets after defeating them so easily a few days ago in the abandoned village. However, he would soon find that the two Huntsmen were totally different people.

The first to cross blows with him had been Nora. She didn't even have time to take out her hammer as Tyrion rushed her, laughing maniacally and swinging the double-bladed axes strapped on his arms. Nora dodged the first few strikes narrowly before using her bare arms to block and fight back. It seemed beyond foolish, especially to Tyrion who just laughed louder, believing it to be desperation. But when his axes struck Nora's arms, instead of slicing through the skin or being absorbed by her aura to lessen the damage, her pink aura deflected them and acted as shield.

Tyrion only had a split-second to stare in shock before he was punched in the gut by Nora and suddenly on the back foot, being pummeled by the spunky Huntress. As this happened, Tyrion saw out of the corner of his eye Ren running around them, his pistols raised and firing at the scorpion faunus. Tyrion grunted in pain as his aura absorbed the many bullets hitting him while also trying to keep Nora from leaving permanent bruises.

"Oh, this is a surprise!" he managed through the barrage of attacks, "Maybe I can have some fun here!"

He leaped away from Nora, finally getting some distance between himself and her. Ren skidded to a halt and stood beside Nora, reloading his ammo while she equipped her massive hammer. They looked steadily at Tyrion, Ren showing little emotion while Nora smirked slightly, clearly enjoying herself.

Tyrion licked his lips, glaring maliciously at his two opponents as if they were prey for his next meal. He cocked his arm shotguns and waved his tail behind him a slow methodical motion.

Without any warning, the servant of Salem suddenly sprinted forward, his speed far greater than it was before and closing the distance within a matter of seconds. Ren and Nora tensed and as he neared, the former nodding to his companion.

"Nora."

She understood immediately. She leapt backwards, changing her hammer into a grenade launcher as she did so. Meanwhile, Ren ran forward to meet Tyrion, using the hooked blades at the ends of the pistols as melee weapons. The two clashed and began exchanging fast strikes, matching each other's speed and seemingly unable to get a clean hit off one another. Every once in a while, they would back up a few feet and use their firearms, but even then, their speed and aura were able to either dodge or absorb the few hits that did occur.

The fight seemed to be a complete stalemate. That is until Nora came into play once more. From the sidelines, she aimed her grenade launcher into the air and fired off a few rounds. The grenades flew up and did a perfect arc towards the two fighters. Ren, knowing what was coming, backed off just in time for the pink grenades to slam straight into Tyrion, imploding on impact. He screamed in surprise and agony, his aura sparking as he fell to the ground. However, Ren did not even give him the chance to do that. Just as he fell, Ren sped forward and took the opportunity to land a few wide slashes across Tyrion before kicking him away where he rolled for a few meters before finally coming to a stop.

Ren and Nora walked slowly towards his body, ready to jump away in case it was a trap. As for Tyrion, he was trembling in pain, his aura flickering and healing him slower than usual. It wasn't quite at the point of shattering but the sudden amount of damage that had been inflicted had sent the aura into slight shock. But it was still enough to wipe the cocky grin off of Tyrion's face. He now looked ready to kill as he tried to get up, any trace of his coy and mocking attitude disappearing.

"You want to play like that," he coughed quietly, causing Ren and Nora to freeze, "So be it… I can play like that."

His long scorpion tail twitched and suddenly whipped around with incredible speed. Its smashed Ren in the chest, sending him sprawling. Nora cried out in concern, turning away from Tyrion to chase after Ren. The faunus took this chance to leap up from his position and slashing his axes across Nora. She yelped in pain, not preparing her aura for the sudden onslaught and even dropping her weapon in shock. Tyrion continued slashing crazily, not letting Nora to recover for even a second. As he did so, he regained some of his old bravado and laughed out manically.

"You really thought two Huntsmen could take me down?! I am one of Queen Salem's strongest servants and will die for her if necessary! Your efforts against me are useless! USELESS, USELESS, USELESS, USELESS!"

He stopped slashing for a second and quickly aimed his tail at Nora's heart, ready to inject her full of venom. Nora coughed, trying to recover enough to move, but Tyrion made sure to hold her in place as he aimed and struck with his tail. However, just as the tail was about to connect, Ren came in from the side brought down his pistols onto the scorpion tail. Unfortunately, Tyrion was able to see the attack just in time and jumped away, avoiding the attempt and landing a few feet away.

"Nora!" Ren held his friend gently, helping her to steady herself, "Are you alright? Say something!"

Despite being just mauled by a psychopathic scorpion man, Nora actually chuckled a little. She set her feet and retrieved her weapon from the ground. Then she gave Ren a sly but grateful look.

"You know, you're too cute when you worry," she said, causing Ren to blush deeply, "But don't worry, I am fine. After what Goku did to our bodies, it will take far more than that to bring me down."

"You're right," Ren said, "But we must be careful. Our opponent is still quite formidable and can easily defeat us if we aren't careful."

"Well, I'm sure not giving him another chance," Nora said, her tone and expression becoming harsh, "Let's show this bastard how we do things, Ren!"

Ren was slightly surprised at the sudden and uncharacteristic change in attitude in Nora. But he could hardly blame her. After all, the same anger coursing through her was in him. He nodded and joined her in a fighting position as Tyrion gave them a look dripping with hatred.

"Ready when you are, Nora!" Ren said.

"You bet I am," she replied, "This time let's take him on together!"

They charged forward, the scorpion faunus roaring a battle cry along with them as he did the same and they clashed once more in a furious battle of strength and will.

* * *

Professor Lionheart was on his way down the stairs from the second level and running towards the statue in the center of the room when his path was blocked by the strangest trio he had ever seen. A blue haired woman in her mid-twenties holding a dust rifle, a young teen farm boy wielding a long black cane, and a small child with green skin and strange robes. They all glared at him, clearly not willing to let him pass.

"So, we meet again professor," Bulma said coldly, "Maybe this time you will pay attention."

Lionheart stammered a little, not enjoying the withering look Bulma was giving him.

"Umm, I didn't realize you would be so worked up over that," he said quickly, "I do apologize for-"

"Oh, can it already!" Bulma interrupted, hefting her rifle and pointing it at him, "Now tell us where the Relic is. I don't think you want this to get ugly."

Beside her, Oscar and Dende nodded determinedly, the latter standing a little behind the other two and raising his arms, ready to heal if necessary.

Lionheart stepped back a few paces, raising the arm with his weapon shakily as Bulma and Oscar advanced. However, before either side could do anything, another voice cut in.

"What's the matter gramps? Need some help against these freakin losers?"

Vernal stepped up beside Lionheart, her smug expression smirking at the trio of heroes. She was holding her dual pistols, each outfitted with a blade that curled in crescent shape around the gun.

Lionheart turned away quickly, looking in the direction of the statue. As he began to rush towards it, he called back, "Just hold them back long enough to activate the statue!"

Bulma began charging forward herself, her gun raised and aimed for Lionheart. However, Vernal intercepted her and swung her crescent blades in an arc, causing Bulma to step back.

"Nuh-uh," Vernal taunted, "Sorry, but I just can't let you past."

Bulma grit her teeth, turning her gun on to Vernal. Then, a figure sped beside her and engaged Vernal. It was Oscar, his face determined and set, using his cane like a sword to push Vernal back. His strikes were quick and precise, surprising the tribal girl enough to start taking him seriously. As they started to exchange blows, the farm boy called to Bulma, "Go after the professor! We can't let them get to the Relic!"

His voice sounded slightly strange to Bulma and she realized that Oscar was not the only one speaking. She could hear Ozpin's voice along with Oscars, both speaking simultaneously to convey something of the utmost importance. Bulma nodded and sprinted after Lionheart, Dende following her.

Unfortunately, Vernal had bought just enough time for Lionheart. As Bulma and Dende made their way to him, he had already stepped up to the large statue. Taking out a small pocket watch from his jacket, he carefully placed it into the hole at the center of the statue. It fit perfectly and the statue shook for a second. Then it began descending down, taking the large platform it held above its head with it.

"Crap!" Bulma said, "He's set it going! We need to find a way to stop it!"

"But how?" Dende asked, "I don't see any way to deactivate it."

Bulma grimaced, looking the statue up and down as they reached it. It wasn't strictly mechanical, meaning it wasn't quite in her range of expertise. However, there was always some logic to things and Bulma spotted something that could be the key. The pocket watch in the center.

"We need to knock that stupid watch out," she said to Dende, raising her gun and pointing it at the statue. Unfortunately, Lionheart was blocking the center, making sure that it was covered from harm. He noticed Bulma and where she aimed, and though his face became fearful, he did not budge from his spot, only confirming Bulma's suspicions.

Bulma aimed down the sight of the rifle and fired off a few normal rounds, trying to spook the professor into dodging. However, as the bullets soared towards him, Lionheart simply moved his arm with the circular weapon on it and used it as a shield against the bullets. Despite his age and cowardly behavior, he moved with the speed and skill of someone with years of experience under his belt.

Behind him, the statue was almost halfway submerged under the ground. Once it was fully submerged, the platform would serve as an elevator down to the bottom level where, Bulma assumed, the Relic lay.

Bulma heard the clashes of weapons behind her as all her friends, the Huntsmen she had met in the past few days who had trained beyond their limits, fought hard to prevent the villians from getting what they wanted. She needed to do the same.

Raising her gun once more, she switched the bullets from normal to fire dust and once more fired a few more shots in Lionheart's direction, beginning to take him seriously. After all, he was the headmaster of an academy for Huntsmen.

He raised his own arm and trained his weapon in her direction. He pulled the trigger and a column of fire shot forth from the steel tip protruding from the wheel like weapon. The column intercepted most of Bulma's fire bullets, disintegrating them before heading straight for Bulma. She barely had time to jump out of the way before the column hit the floor where she had been standing and burst. Smaller columns of fire splashed about and hit Bulma as she tried to get up, causing her to yelp in pain and fall back down. The burn seared into her skin, shooting pain throughout her entire body. Just as it became unbearably, however, she suddenly felt herself feel warm and safe. She blinked a few times, wondering where the pain had gone. Then she looked to her side and saw Dende kneeling beside her, his hands outstretched over her and busily healing her. Within seconds, she felt good as new and picked herself up, glancing gratefully at the little Namekian.

"Thanks, Dende."

He nodded before glancing over at Lionheart. His face fell and as Bulma followed his gaze, she saw why.

Lionheart was still standing in front of the statue. Though he still looked resolutely defiant not to leave his guarding position, his aura flickered a little as he held his side, seemingly in pain. At his feet, a few cinders were still sizzling on the ground. It took a few moments for Bulma to realize that some of her fire bullets must have got past the column of fire and hit his side.

However, that was not why Bulma and Dende were now gasping in horror. Behind the wounded professor, the statue was almost fully submerged, with only the head left to go under. The center piece with the pocket watch had disappeared below the ground, unreachable now from their position. As the two watched in despair, the head of the statue sank below the ground entirely, leaving only the round platform above it which, as it came level to the floor, stopped suddenly.

Before Bulma or Dende could snap out of their daze and realize that the elevator was complete, Lionheart cupped his hands over his mouth and yelled out to the room, "CINDER! THE PASSAGEWAY TO THE RELIC IS READY FOR USE!"

Cinder heard this loud and clear. She was still fighting the trio of Ruby, Jaune, and Neo and beginning to struggle as their teamwork and newfound strength began overwhelming her. However, at the sound of Lionheart's call, she smiled widely.

Without hesitation, she backed away from the fight and rose into the air. Before her three opponents realized what, she was planning, she summoned a massive orb that glowed as brightly as the sun on a hot summer's day. She threw it down at the ground, where it burst and filled the room in the bright glow, blinding the Huntsmen for a few seconds.

"Raven! Vernal!" she called out, landing on the ground and sprinting towards the statue, "Get to the elevator now!"

A few meters away, Raven heard her call as she fought against her brother. Qrow heard this to and grimaced in anger and determination, pressing harder against Raven. Unfortunately, the Branwen tribe chief had been preparing for this moment from the beginning like Cinder. She parried a few more swift strikes from Qrow before darting to the side. As Qrow blindly chased after, pulling his broadsword back to strike once more, Raven reached into her pocket and retrieved a small black ball. Just as Qrow came within a foot of her, she tossed the ball into his face. It exploded into black smoke, covering the Huntsmen's face and causing him to cough uncontrollably and lose sight of his opponent.

Raven joined Cinder sprinting towards the statue. Beside it, Lionheart had collapsed next to the platform, nursing his wounds. After doing what he was supposed to do, he seemed to have no desire to continue in the fight.

The same could not be said for Bulma. She blocked the way to the statue and, hefting her rifle, began spraying a barrage of bullets in Cinder's and Raven's direction. The two powerful fighters, however, just darted around, dodging the bullets and closing in fast on Bulma. With one swift motion, Cinder smacked the blue haired scientist out of the way, sending her sprawling onto the ground where she lay as Dende ran over to her quickly.

"Quite pitiful," Cinder said smugly.

The two reached the platform and looked out over the room, searching for Vernal. As they did so, they saw the other fights still in progress, becoming more vicious as the heroes tried to reach them quickly, only to be held up by the other servants of Salem.

As for Vernal, she was having surprising trouble against Oscar. At first, she had scoffed at the prospect of fighting a farm boy with a cane. Now, she was sweating profusely, barely keeping herself from being overwhelmed by Oscar as he swung his cane in tight and powerful arcs. Whenever she tried to counter or dart around him, he would mirror her movements, being even faster than her and blocking her attempts.

When the call from Cinder had sounded, she had heard it and tried to use the same black smoke ball that Raven had used against Qrow. However, she had not timed it well, opting to simply throw it at Oscar from a distance. The farm boy simply jumped around it and used his cane as a baseball bat to slam it away from him before charging forward once more and engaging Vernal in combat.

"Our Maiden seems to be having some trouble," Cinder noted coolly, "I wonder why she hasn't been using her powers as much."

Raven tensed slightly, hearing the suspicion creeping in the Fall Maiden's voice. She quickly said, "She is not yet very experience with her powers in combat. Allow me to assist her."

Raven then disappeared, replaced by a jet-black raven. She took to the sky and soared straight for Vernal and Oscar. As Oscar charged in for another volley of strikes, Raven dive bombed him, raking her claws over his face. He froze mid charge, surprised by the sudden attack and was thrown into disarray trying to fend off the bird. Meanwhile, Vernal saw this bird to be her chief and took the opportunity to dart around Oscar and sprint towards the platform where Cinder was waiting.

Raven joined her shortly, morphing back into human form as she did so. Behind them, Oscar recovered and began after them in hot pursuit. He wasn't the only one. The glow from Cinder's blinding attack had begun to fade and the trio she had been fighting had begun to recover. Ruby, Jaune, and Neo looked around and saw Oscar chasing Raven and Vernal. They quickly joined him, Ruby using her Semblance to boost her speed even more.

Even Bulma, who was getting up after being healed from Dende, retrieved her gun and once more began to open fire on Raven and Vernal, using all kinds of dust to try and trip them up. However, her bullets were countered by Cinder, who fired columns of fire and wind to knock the projectiles out of the air.

The race was a tight call, but ultimately, Raven and Vernal made it to the platform first. The instant they were both on, Cinder stamped her foot hard on the platform and it creaked for a second before beginning to descend rapidly down. Within seconds, the trio were well below ground and almost out of sight as the Huntsmen arrived.

"Sneaky bastards!" Qrow roared in a fit of rage. He had joined the race a little late due to the smoke he had been literally covered in. Now, he felt partially responsible for the escape. He set his foot on the edge of the hole and looked about to jump down or transform into a crow. But Ruby put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him cold.

"Uncle Qrow," she urged, "You can't go down there alone. There are three of them and one of you."

"But we need to get down there somehow!" Neo said angrily. She was kneeling beside Bulma, making sure her friend was fully healed by Dende once more. She too was feeling guilty, though it was about leaving Bulma behind to fight the likes of Cinder.

"Look," Jaune said, trying to calm the others, "I think it's safe to assume that we have lost them for now. But, as far as we know, there is only one way in and out of that place. We just need to wait for them here and then try to get the Relic from them."

Qrow and Neo looked unconvinced about this plan. But Ruby nodded, knowing that the knight was right.

Their musings about the Relic were suddenly interrupted as the entire building shook. Around them, the walls trembled and creaked as if something from the outside was pounding on them.

"What is going on out there?" Bulma asked irritably, "Are those Saiyan's trying to destroy the building in their fights?"

"No…," Oscar's eyes widened as a horrible thought came to him, "Oh, god! The army! If Vegeta went after that Ginyu person and Goku went to the city and Gohan and Krillin went after the faunus then who is taking care of the army right outside this building?!"

The sudden realization hit them all just as parts of the walls began caving in. Frieza Soldiers began oozing out of the cracks, their white high-tech Atlas armor gleaming and their dust wielding weapons looking even more menacing than Bulma's.

As they streamed in, they noticed the fights going in the room. Not caring about who was who, they trained their weapons on the fighters and opened fire. Another group of soldiers stormed in from the side and rushed towards the group next to the passageway to the Relic. Without so much as a warning, they raised their weapons as well and began to fire upon them, causing them to leap into action and focus on this new enemy.

All of a sudden, the dynamic of the room changed. People who had just been fighting each other a few seconds ago, suddenly found themselves back to back, defending themselves against the waves of common enemies.

Yang and Mercury smashed through soldiers, the combination of fists and legs even more prominent when working together, though neither admitted it. In fact, when there was a slight lapse in soldiers, they would suddenly begin fighting each other again, their hatred still red hot.

Weiss and Emerald also fought side by side, slashing through the incoming army and making quick work of the grunts. Unlike the other two though, they did not try to reconvene their own fight at every opportunity. This was partly due to the fact that Emerald was hesitant about engaging once more with Weiss in combat. Her wounds were still sore from their battle and her aura not in the best of shape. As for Weiss, her interest in fighting Emerald had all but died out once the soldiers had entered. Her earlier rage had returned in full, seeing the men and faunus that had been at her mansion to ransack its valuables and kill the occupants. She recognized the armor they wore, and it only made her fury even worse. At that moment, for the first time in her life, she did not care if she killed her opponents.

In another corner of the room, Ren, Nora, and Tyrion were also engaging a large crowd of soldiers. The two Huntsmen fought in perfect harmony, attacking and defending each other when necessary and as a result they plowed through the enemy lines. Tyrion on the other hand fought alone, laughing crazily and slashing his double-bladed axes into the crowd while whipping his tail all over the place. After having trouble with Ren and Nora, this was the perfect opportunity to let all his anger and bloodlust out. The soldiers cried in agony as they fell to him, either being slashed by his axes, shot by his shotguns, or poisoned by his tail.

Surrounding the passageway to the Relic, the rest of the fighters were holding off the horde just as much. Bulma especially took this chance to redeem herself and began firing at the wave of Frieza Soldiers, taking down many with different types of dust bullets. Of course, she would get reckless at times and put herself directly in danger and get hit by their bullets. Thankfully, Dende shadowed her and healed her whenever necessary, keeping himself low to ground as to not get hit himself.

"You know," Bulma yelled out to her comrades, "I love those guys, but sometimes they need to remember to think about the smaller enemies instead of just going after the big guys. It's all about the fight for them!"

"I'm sure they just overlooked these guys," Ruby said reassuringly, firing a few rounds into the crowd, "Besides, if they didn't take on the generals, who would?"

"Speaking of which," Jaune said, using his shield to block a strike from a pike wielding soldier, "I wonder how they are doing out there."

"I'm sure they're fine," Qrow said, darting back to avoid a volley of bullets, "You saw the power they exhibited when they got serious. I don't think those generals were ready for that. Honestly, I'm more concerned about us."

"For me, there is something even more troubling," Oscar said, whacking a few soldiers with his cane and bringing them to the ground, "And that's the amount of time that this is taking."

A few of the fighters glanced over at him for a second, though they quickly looked away so as to not get killed. Ruby asked the question on everyone's mind.

"What do you mean by that, Oscar?"

The farm boy did not respond for a moment. He took down a few more soldiers before jumping back a little to catch his breath. Then he looked up at his friends, his expression grim. When he spoke, his voice was once again a mixture of both Oscars and Ozpin's.

"I don't know how long we have before their master joins the fray."

* * *

"More wine for you, my lord?" a servant asked tentatively, holding out a bottle of vintage wine.

Lord Frieza put down the glass he was holding on the battlement wall, looking thoughtfully out across the horizon. Twilight was fast approaching as the sun began to sink below the distant mountains.

"No, I think that will be all for now," Frieza said, flicking his hand in a gesture. The servant understood and bowed deeply before taking his leave, making sure to clear away the wine glass as he went. As the servant left, another soldier came forth. It was one of the faunus that Frieza had first met almost a week ago in the village. In fact, he was the one that had killed the faunus baby under Frieza's orders. Now, a general in the Frieza Force, he came up to Frieza, bowing as he did so.

"My lord," he began, his voice slightly shaky but clear all the same, "We have gotten news from Captain Ginyu that the scum you have been searching for have been located at Haven Academy. At the moment, Captain Ginyu and General Adam are engaging them in combat, making sure to keep them in place for you, my lord."

There was a short silence. The general gulped, waiting with bated breath as Frieza considered this piece of news. The tyrant did not turn to look at him, but it was obvious he was smiling his signature cold smile.

"Is that so?" he said finally, his voice silky, "I must say, that is excellent news. It seems that bull boy's mission has unearthed even greater rewards other than resources."

The general bowed.

"We can set up a dropship for you at once and send another battalion of troops to join you on your journey, my lord."

At this, Frieza began to chuckle cruelly. The general recoiled as the laugh chilled him to the bone and suddenly made him want to run away as fast as possible.

"That won't be necessary general," Frieza replied, "I am quite certain that I can do this on my own."

"Of course, my lord!" the general stammered, sweat trickling down his face, "I would never imply that you are weak! Never in a million years! I will get a private transport ready for you instead then-"

His rambling was interrupted by Frieza, who began tutting as if in disappointment. As he did so, the ground around them began to shake. The walls of the fortress creaked and even cracked in some places. The general stumbled to his knees, staring in horror as energy began surrounding the evil emperor.

"My dear general," Frieza spoke, his voice mockingly polite, "You have much to learn. When I want to get somewhere fast, your silly vehicles will never suffice. It's like everyone says," he finally looked back at the general, revealing the crazy look of excitement growing on his face, "When you want something done, do it yourself."

With that, he flexed his energy once more and suddenly shot into the sky. The general watched with his mouth open in astonishment as Frieza flew up many meters above the ground before stopping and, with speeds that easily out sped any Atlas aircraft, began soaring in the direction of the sinking sun. And Mistral.

* * *

On the campus grounds of Haven Academy, chaos was spreading. On the ground, thousands of Frieza Soldiers ran around, either rushing into the main building where a group of Huntsmen were fighting or shooting up at the sky at the incredible flying fighters that fought with inhuman powers.

As they did so, large explosions occurred randomly in random places as an energy blast from one of the fighters would miss its intended target and instead come crashing down on the poor souls below.

Up in the sky, two of the fighters fought fiercely against one another. Even from the ground, the two figures were unmistakable as Vegeta and Captain Ginyu. The spiky hair and massive bulk were hard to miss even from several meters below.

They fought each other ferociously, exchanging lightning fast punches and kicks. Every time their fists or legs would collide, a mini shockwave would break the air around them and produce a booming sound as loud as thunder. Combined this sound with the amount of times they collided like that, the sky sounded like multiple thunder clouds were clapping at the same time despite it being a clear forecast that night.

As they continued to fight, the two fighters continuously mocked each other, not losing an opportunity to insult the other.

"Ah, look at poor Ginyu," Vegeta cackled, delivering a powerful punch to Ginyu's gut, "First a frog and now a measly human! Quite the pride of the Frieza Army!"

"You have much to say for a Prince of Nothing!" Ginyu shot back, recovering from the punch and swung his foot against Vegeta who barely blocked it with his arm, "How many Saiyans are left right now? Two including you?"

They fired back and forth, fighting as much verbally as they were physically. Each insult seemed to give the person more power over the other for a few seconds before their opponent gave an equally harsh retort.

Vegeta grit his teeth as Ginyu dodged another kick of his and countered with a swift cross punch to the jaw. He staggered back slightly in the air, wiping away the blood from his mouth and snarling at the Captain, who took this time to pose right there.

"You say I am weak in this human body, Vegeta," Ginyu said, "But I seem to be beating you quite handily! Of course, you will be dead soon enough anyway once Lord Frieza comes."

Vegeta clenched his fists tightly, remembering the horrible truth. Granted, it was because of that he was flying in the first place. However, as he glared at the Captain, he closed his eyes and smiled. This maybe the last time he would be able to use his full power and he was going to make sure he enjoyed using it to the fullest.

"Unfortunately for you, Ginyu," Vegeta said, looking up at his opponent with a new air of smug confidence, "That was just the warmup. You will be dead before your dear master even arrives."

The Prince powered up, flexing his energy and dashed forward at Ginyu, catching him by surprise with a couple of punches to the gut. He began whaling on the Captain, not letting him block or even back away from his onslaught of punches and kicks. Ginyu coughed and choked, his breath getting knocked away as Vegeta pummeled him.

Once he deemed enough had been done, Vegeta brought both his fists together and brought them down on Ginyu's head in a volleyball spike. The Captain didn't even have time to yell as he rocketed to the ground, hitting it with such force that a a mini crater formed around him. Dust billowed all around, covering the crater and Ginyu in a dense veil.

Vegeta floated over the crater, his grin beyond cocky. He yelled down, "Done already? Are you seriously that pathetic that you cannot fight me when I am being serious? And you call yourself an elite fighter!"

Vegeta sniggered, pointing his arm down towards the crater. He opened his palm and summoned a ball of Ki energy to his hand. He smirked widely, preparing to blast Ginyu into oblivion. However, before he could do so, a voice down below stopped him cold.

"Do not underestimate the power of the Ginyu Force!"

Vegeta watched, his eyes widening as he did so, as the dust cleared and revealed Ginyu standing up. His body was bruised, and he was bleeding from a few cuts. But the bruises seemed to be regenerating, a dim light shimmering around them. In addition, Ginyu himself seemed completely unfazed by the fact that he had just been smashed into the ground with the force of a plane crash.

Captain Ginyu grinned up at Vegeta, seeing the Prince's stunned expression.

"Impressed with my new abilities?" he asked mockingly, "You see, this human body, while at first physically weak, had a few quirks that come in handy! Such as-"

"Aura," Vegeta cut in, his stunned expression becoming progressively angry, "Your new host used aura!? And you dare fight me using that pathetic crutch!?"

Ginyu raised his eyebrow at the Prince.

"First off, don't steal my thunder. Second of all, how is it a crutch if it's a natural ability? Are you just jealous that Saiyan's don't have this?"

"What is there to be jealous of?" Vegeta yelled, "It's an ability that is not befitting of the Saiyan race. It's used by cowards who cannot fight a battle without regenerative armor."

"You know you're wearing armor right now?" Ginyu pointed out, referring to the flexible battle armor that Vegeta always wore, "Why do you wear armor then? That other Saiyan doesn't. Is he stronger than you then?"

Vegeta's face turned from white to beat red as he snarled loudly. His energy began to build up around him, sizzling the air around him. As his rage increased, Ginyu decided to continue talking.

"Anyway, you are correct my dear Prince of Nothing. I use this aura power that is native to this world. However, I also inherited this bodies special ability, a Semblance if you will. And I must say this Semblance is beyond useful!"

Ginyu paused, waiting for Vegeta to ask what it was. But Vegeta was still busy getting worked up to even pay attention. Ginyu sighed, not appreciating the lack of entertainment value, but continued all the same, making his voice loud and clear so Vegeta would hear.

"My Semblance allows me to never feel physical pain! I cannot feel any wound wounds that are inflicted upon me or any blasts of energy thrown my way! You cannot cause me pain, Prince Vegeta!"

Vegeta said nothing for a few moments. He just floated above, growling in absolute fury. Ginyu sighed once more, ready to give up on mocking the Prince and preparing to start another attack when Vegeta finally said something, his voice etched with pure loathing and bloodlust.

"So, you can't feel pain… is that it? Well then… why don't we put it to a stress test."

Vegeta suddenly ascended a few more meters into the sky, still keeping himself above Ginyu. He then put his hands together and raised them up and behind his shoulder. The air around him began crackling with energy and purple light began to shine from his body. Within seconds, an orb of purple energy completely surrounded the Prince, the source of it all coming from his hands. He glowered down at the Captain, who's own cocky demeanor had melted away, being replaced by dawning realization.

"YOU SAY YOU HAVE BECOME STRONGER UNDER YOUR MASTER!" Vegeta roared down at Ginyu, "YOU SAY YOU HAVE ALL THESE NEW SPECIAL POWERS! GUESS WHAT? THEY DON'T MEAN ANYTHING TO ME! PREPARE TO BE REDUCED TO ASH YOU PITIFUL BASTARD!"

The intensity of the energy increased with these words, causing the ground below to start shaking slightly. Frieza Soldiers ran around in a panic, not knowing where to run or hide. Meanwhile, Ginyu got over his initial shock and raised his own hands, summoning a large purple energy orb of his own. He smirked up at the Prince, seemingly unconcerned about the massive amount of energy Vegeta was exhibiting.

"You can get angry all you want, Vegeta," Ginyu yelled back, "But my powers are simply superior to yours!"

Vegeta roared, flexing his energy even more, creating shock waves that blew soldiers of their feet. He then thrust his arms downward towards and yelled at the top of his lungs, "GALICK GUN… FIRE!"

From his hands, the purple Ki energy shot down to the Captain, soaring in a beam of concentrated power that crackled the air around it. It light up the entire academy in a ghostly purple light, visible from miles around.

As the Galick Gun blasted down, Ginyu braced his feet and aimed his own attack right up at it. Then, when he was ready, he yelled, "MILKY CANNON!"

His attack fired up at the Galick Gun, meeting it in midair. There, the two purple energy beams stalled, the two fighters pushing them to overpower the other. Around them, the ground shook violently, upturning nearby trees, rocks and even soldiers.

"GIVE IT UP VEGETA!" Ginyu cackled up at the Prince, pouring in more Ki energy and aura into his attack, "Your strength cannot overcome the likes of aura and Ki energy combined! I can feel myself overcoming you as I speak!"

As if reacting to Ginyu's words, the Milky Cannon began gaining headway against the Galick Gun, pushing it back towards Vegeta. The Prince grit his teeth in frustration as he felt his attack giving way. But he did not relent, pushing harder and expanding his energy.

"I am a member of the mighty Saiyan race…," he said quietly to himself, "And I will not be defeated by SUCH GARBAGE!"

He screamed in defiance, putting all his pride and anger into his attack. The purple Ki energy grew brighter and came down upon Ginyu with even greater force, causing the Captain to start faltering. He tried to reinforce his own Milky Cannon and give it another burst of energy. But this time, the Milky Cannon did not gain any headway. In fact, it steadily began to recede back towards Ginyu, losing the struggle against the Galick Gun. The Captain's eyes widened, his smug attitude fully wiped away as his attack was suddenly fully engulfed and destroyed by Vegeta's.

He screamed a guttural cry of fear as the Galick Gun rocketed down towards him and smashed right into him. There was an almighty explosion as the attack landed, obliterating a good chunk of the campus grounds and demolishing a few nearby campus buildings. Purple energy flew everywhere as the attack expanded on impact, temporarily creating a massive dome of Ki.

Then it all dissipated. The ground finally stopped shaking. The dust began to clear, and the Ki energy began to fade away into the air. All that was left was a massive crater in the middle of the campus, a few meters deeps and still steaming slightly from the energy. Around the edges, bodies of unlucky Frieza Soldiers littered the ground, either unconscious or dead.

At the very center, one body lay in the ground. Ginyu, battered and wounded all over, his clothes ragged and his body barely responding to him, choked out a healthy amount of blood. Groaning, he tried to get up but, his body did not listen and kept him firmly in place. He tried to use his aura to reenergize him but could not muster up even a speck of aura. He realized that all of it must have gone into his attack and into protecting him from the attack that had nearly obliterated him. The only good thing, in his mind, about this predicament was the fact that he still couldn't feel any pain that came with this defeated state. Unfortunately, it did not help him get back up to fight. While his nerves did not register pain, his body still registered the damage done to it.

From above, loud obnoxious laughter boomed. Ginyu did not have to look up to see Vegeta, basically rolling around in the air with glee and satisfaction.

"Haha, HAHA, HAHA, HOW DO YOU FEEL NOW YOU BASTARD!"

Ginyu, for once, had no witty remark to throw back. His mind was too filled with rage as he watched the Saiyan Prince descend, still chortling derisively. Vegeta touched down in front of Ginyu and glared down at him, his face still smirking but his eyes conveying the absolute loathing he felt for the Captain.

"You know," Vegeta said finally, getting over his laughter, "When I beat you up on Namek, it was rewarding to know that I had overcome a warrior of elite status. The man that Frieza called to whenever he needed extra firepower. But now," his cocky grin returned, cold as it was mocking, "The only satisfaction I'm getting from this is returning the garbage to where it belongs. Also proving to your tiny brain that not feeling pain does not mean I can't harm you, moron."

Captain Ginyu raised his head just slightly, giving Vegeta a look of absolute hatred.

"Once Lord Frieza gets here… You will be the one groveling on the floor…and he won't listen to your pleas for mercy… I'm going to enjoy watching you get torn apart by him."

Vegeta's smirk only grew wider.

"That's assuming you will even alive by the time he gets here. But before I do finish off your miserable life," Vegeta pulled back his leg and smiled maliciously down at Ginyu, "I'm going to exact some payback for all the times you mocked me back when I was part of Frieza's army!"

Before Ginyu could say anything, he felt Vegeta's foot dig into his stomach and launch him a few yards until crashing back onto the ground limply. The only body part the Captain could move was his head and eyes, wide as he watched the Prince walk toward him, ready to give him some pain free humiliation.

* * *

A few hundred feet away, Gohan and Krillin watched as Vegeta kicked Ginyu again, not quite sure what do think. On one hand, the proud Saiyan had good reason to be this angry. But on the other hand, his way of coping with it was quite unsavory for their tastes.

Eventually, Krillin sighed, turning to Gohan and giving him a weak smile.

"Let's just leave him to it," he said, "I don't think going over to him right now anyway would be good for our health."

Gohan nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Frankly, I'm just thankful that we are all still alive after his attack. He lost it there for a second and if he had really felt like it, he could have destroyed the entire city, killing everyone."

"Forget the city," Krillin muttered, "The world was in danger there for a second. It's sometimes easy to forget that he and Goku have the power to do that."

They watched as Vegeta walked over to Ginyu once more, his grin visible even from their vantage point. As he kicked Ginyu again, sending the Captain soaring a few meters, Gohan actually smiled a little.

"You know," he said, "I don't think he had any intention to destroy the planet or even the city at any point."

Krillin raised a curious eyebrow.

"What makes you say that, Gohan? The energy he was giving off was at times easily capable of doing both."

"That's not the point," Gohan explained, "His power was strong enough, sure. But when I felt it, I didn't feel the same insane bloodlust I did back on Earth or even on Namek. His anger was centered on Ginyu and as a result, his attack was only aimed to Ginyu. He concentrated the energy into a dense blast, making sure the blast wouldn't annihilate anymore than the area around his opponent."

Krillin nodded, though he did not look convinced.

"Well, I get that much. But he may have just realized that if he went too far, he would have been caught in the explosion."

Gohan shook his head, still smiling as Vegeta kicked Ginyu through a building.

"I could feel his energy. Like I said, it wasn't the same. Instead of complete bloodlust… I felt energy that felt similar to my dad's when he fights."

Krillin's eyebrows crept even higher at that.

"You mean to say he was fighting for someone other than himself? Forgive me Gohan, while I do respect his strength, I don't quite yet think he has much concern for the lives of others. I mean, just look at how he is treating Ginyu."

Krillin gestured at Vegeta, who was currently kicking Ginyu up into the air before flying up and smashing him right back down to the ground. Gohan watched, not responding to Krillin, though his thoughts still wondered on Vegeta's true feelings for the comrades he claimed to be a waste of space.

As they watched, a sudden voice snapped behind them.

"How dare you ignore me! I will cut you up into pieces!"

The two fighters turned to see Adam Taurus staggering to his feet, pointing his katana at them. His dark robes were ripped and tattered in places and his body flickered with red aura as he moved.

During Vegeta's fight with Ginyu, the two of them had taken care of Adam. Despite the bull faunus's greatly increased strength under Frieza, he soon found himself woefully unprepared to take on Krillin and Gohan. The battle had been completely one-sided, Adam only able to struggle desperately to keep himself from being pummeled.

Now he faced his opponents once more, his Grimm mask growling. Krillin and Gohan crouched into fighting stances, ready to engage once more. However, before either side could begin attacking, a large explosion caught their attention. They turned just in time to see part of the wall to the main building collapse and a swarm of Frieza Soldiers rush in. Gunfire sounded loud and clear, mixed with the clashing of weapons and the screams of people.

As they watched, a sudden voice somehow rose up shrilly above all the chaos, resounding around the campus.

"KRILLIN! GOHAN! VEGETA! GOKU! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE AND HELP US!"

Even when fighting with the sounds of gunfire, Bulma's voice was unmistakable and just as commanding as always. Even Vegeta momentarily stopped bashing Ginyu to stare at the main building. However, he quickly returned to his business when Ginyu tried to score a cheap shot.

Meanwhile, Krillin and Gohan chuckled weakly as they heard their blue haired friend yell at them. It didn't matter if they were in the middle of a battle. Bulma still had time to scold them.

"Someone should probably go help them out," Gohan said, unable to suppress a small smile despite the serious situation.

"You go on ahead," Krillin said, turning back to Adam and concentrating once more, "I can take this guy on my own."

Gohan nodded and flew off towards the main building. Behind him, he heard Adam snarl, "Where do you think you're going?! I will-"

His sentence was cut off by a loud grunt of pain and Gohan assumed Krillin had punched him during his yelling. He did not look back and flew quickly to the main building. As he got closer, he saw that Bulma had a good reason to be mad.

The entire Frieza Force must have realized at some point that attacking the airborne fighters capable of launching energy beams strong enough to destroy cities was not a great idea. So they decided to go after the enemies that were not so strong and could be overwhelmed by numbers.

Thousands of white armored soldiers poured into the building, using the collapsed walls as entrances. Gohan could not see inside the building, but he could tell that his Huntsmen friends were going to be in serious trouble if he did not do something.

Tightening both his fists, Gohan summoned Ki energy to both his hands. He then pointed them down and began firing a massive volley of yellow energy blasts down at the crowd of soldiers. They scattered, screaming as the first few made impact with the ground, causing small explosions and creating mini craters.

Gohan continued firing, pulling his arm back slightly every time and thrusting it forward with lighting fast speed. This made the rate of shots being fired comparable to a high-powered machine gun.

Within a minute, many of the Frieza Soldiers had either run for cover or been defeated. However, they did not take this sitting. Once the initial shock had passed, many squadrons began to regroup, halting their invasion of the main building and instead training their guns on the small boy firing balls of energy from the sky. On the command of the captains, the soldiers collectively opened fire, sending massive volleys of bullets at Gohan from all directions.

At first, the half-Saiyan didn't seem to be bothered. Many of the bullets got caught in his energy blasts and were destroyed. The ones that did get through were either avoided by the nimble boy or caused little to no damage to him.

Unfortunately, as more and more soldiers began firing up and more bullets soared up, Gohan found it more and more difficult to avoid being hit. And while bullets were mostly quite insignificant to him, thousands being shot at him in tandem began getting painful really quick.

Eventually, he was forced to stop his barrage of Ki blasts and begin flying away from the firing troops, swerving in midair to miss the dense volleys. However, he had moved to late.

On the ground, as they launched continuous volleys of bullets up at Gohan, a group of soldiers started to set up another weapon. A large cannon loaded with a shot that contained a mixture of almost fifteen different dust elements. In addition, the shots were heat seeking to make sure that each valuable round was used efficiently.

They loaded the cannon and trained it upon Gohan, still swerving in midair. Once they lined up the shot, one of the captains gave the order to fire. The cannon whirred with electrical power, charging up the shot. Then, with a sound louder than any regular cannon, the multi-dust shot flew into the air at incredible speed, locking onto Gohan within a matter of seconds.

The young boy was too focused on not being caught in a volley of bullets, he did not even hear the shot at first. Only when it was within a few feet from him did he finally see it, his eyes widening in astonishment. Instead of trying to fly faster though, he attempted to quickly fire an energy blast at it. However, by the time he had pulled back his hand, the ball of dust was upon him. It slammed straight into his chest, and Gohan suddenly felt himself screaming from the overload of different pain. He felt electricity, fire, ice coursing through his body, along with other sensations he did not even recognize.

The intense amount of dust was powerful enough to temporarily completely shut off Gohan's body. He felt himself suddenly falling from the sky as he lost control, crashing into the ground with a loud BOOM. There he lay, still unable to move as his body tried to recover from the rush of simultaneous elements that had entered.

As Gohan lay, panting in agony and desperation, he could hear the Frieza Force cheering in triumph. The ground below him shook slightly as thousands of marching feet began charging towards him, ready to either finish him off or detain him until their master arrives. Either way, Gohan suddenly felt completely helpless. Despite the great strength he was blessed with and had trained with, he had been taken down by a simple cannon and bullets.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Suddenly, his mind registered a powerful but familiar presence. As he tried to pinpoint it, he heard a chorus of screams erupt from the charging soldiers, followed by the sounds of massive explosions.

Gohan's eyes flew open and he tried to see what was happening. His body still did not respond, but he was able to move his head just enough to look to his side and see the battalion of Frieza Soldiers light up in a flash of yellow energy.

For a split-second, Gohan thought that his dad, Krillin, or even Vegeta had come to his aid. Then a figure suddenly descended from the sky and landed before him. A white cape billowed behind his tall stature and even in the growing dark, his arms were unmistakably green.

Despite the great pain he was feeling, Gohan broke into a joyous smile and looked up happily at his master.

"Mr. Piccolo!"

The Namekian turned back to look at him. His face was serious and for a second, Gohan thought he was going to be scolded by him. Then a small grin formed on his face.

"Hey there kid," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle, "Need some help?"

A few hundred feet away, the soldiers were beginning to regroup, gaping at the new arrival. They turned the multi-dust cannon towards him and began charging it up. Gohan noticed this and yelled, "Mr. Piccolo, look out!"

Piccolo turned just in time to see the cannon fire its shot straight towards him. It flew at him with breakneck speed, crackling with intense energy. Piccolo, however, did not move. His simply waited for the dust ball to get closer. Once it was in range, he swung his foot back and kicked it right back at the cannon it had come from, imploding the device entirely and sending a dozen Frieza Soldiers into the air.

"Hmmphf," Piccolo grunted, clearly unimpressed, "How pathetic."

He turned to glance down at Gohan.

"Can you stand kid?"

Gohan once again tried to move his body and found, to his surprise, that his limbs responded. He shakily got up, joining Piccolo and slowly feeling himself regain energy. As the two faced the army before them, they suddenly heard Krillin yell, "Woah there!"

The monk, who had previously been fighting Adam, was now floating in the air, looking down as three figures suddenly charged out of nowhere and engaged Adam in combat. They were completely unfamiliar, though Krillin saw by their weapons and aura that they were some sort of Huntsmen. In fact, they were also just as young as the Huntsmen he had been hanging out with for the past week.

He began getting over his surprise and was about to rejoin the fight himself when Piccolo called out to him.

"Let them be, Krillin! That bastard is theirs to fight!"

Gohan looked at his master curiously, wondering what he meant. Krillin was just as confused but decided not to argue with the Namekian. He flew over to the other two, landing beside them. It was here he finally realized that Piccolo was here.

"Piccolo?!" he said in surprise, "When did you get here?"

"Just now," Piccolo replied, "Me and my students rushed over when the fighting began. Thankfully, we got here before He did."

Gohan and Krillin grimaced, not needing to ask who he meant. As they stood together, the sound of a tree collapsing caught their attention. They looked to see Ginyu crashing through a few decorative trees before smashing headlong into a fountain. Flying after him, his face positively gleeful was Vegeta. Piccolo scowled at the sight of the Prince.

"Looks like he's having fun," he said coldly, watching as Vegeta reached Ginyu and kicked him once more, "I sensed his energy fluctuate at one point and even saw the glow of his attack from a nearby mountain. Who the hell is he fighting though?"

Krillin sighed.

"Oh, that's Captain Ginyu. He was on Namek with us. He was the one that switched bodies with Goku before getting pummeled and tricked into switching bodies with a frog. Unfortunately, he found a way to find a more useful body. Though," Krillin paused, watching as Ginyu face planted into a nearby building, "I guess it hasn't been too useful against the likes of Vegeta."

"I see," Piccolo said, his voice uninterested, "Anyway, we seem to have company ourselves."

Before them, the Frieza Soldiers had finished regrouping. They formed tight ranks around the three fighters, yelling orders to one another and aiming their weapons at them.

Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin exchanged a quick look. Than they all grinned, crouching into fighting positions, ready to clear out the formidable army before them. They yelled defiantly, charging forward into battle.

* * *

Miles away in the streets of Mistral, a young woman was pushed down to the ground. Around her, the groceries she was caring fell to the ground. She whimpered in fear, flinching as a shadow loomed over her.

She heard the cocking of a gun and watched, too terrified to even scream, as the Frieza Soldier aimed the rifle down at her head.

"Such a pity," the soldier behind the white mask taunted, "You're quite the pretty little thing as well."

He chuckled and began moving his finger to pull the trigger. Just as the woman closed her eyes, ready to feel the cold embrace of death envelop her, she heard a grunt. She squinted through her closed eyes and saw, to her absolute surprise, the soldier drop his gun. He gasped hoarsely, staggering slightly before collapsing to the ground. Behind him, the woman saw another man standing there, his clothes different from the armor of the soldiers. It was an orange martial arts uniform.

As she watched, still coming to terms to what had happened, the man bent down and peered at her. She recoiled away instinctively, expecting to feel pain. But the man simply asked, "Hey, you alright?"

The woman glanced at him, seeing a kind and concerned face staring at her. It suddenly filled her heart with a bit of warmth and hope. She nodded silently and the man straightened smiling kindly.

"Good to hear that. Don't worry, you should be safe getting home now. There won't be any more soldiers."

He turned to walk away, but the woman suddenly blurted out, "Wait! How do you know that mister? And who are you anyway?"

The man turned around, giving her a bright smile and a thumbs up.

"The name is Goku! And I know because I have taken care of every single soldiers that landed in the city!"

The woman's jaw dropped, wondering if this man was serious or a complete looney. However, judging by how he dealt with the soldier that was threatening her, she felt inclined to believe him.

"Um…" she said, unsure of how to respond, "Well… thank you for saving me."

Goku nodded, still smiling at her.

"No problem," then he turned and raised his arm in a wave, "I would love to stay and chat, but I need to get back to my friends. They may need my-"

Suddenly his voice cut out. He froze entirely and the lady saw him beginning to tremble slightly. She was about to ask him if he was okay, when he spoke himself, quietly whispering something.

"Frieza… he's getting… close…"

"Sir?" the woman asked, approaching Goku slowly, "Is everything okay?"

Goku glanced at her and she saw a flash of unadulterated fear. Seeing his fear suddenly made her terrified. What could terrify a man like this?

Then Goku straightened up. The fear left his face, replaced by steely determination. He looked down at the woman, his hard eyes piercing through her.

"Listen to me very carefully," he said, his voice deadly serious, "Get home, grab your family and leave now. Get off this continent as fast as you can."

The woman stared at him, her shock and confusion muddling her thoughts. Goku began to power up his energy, preparing to fly when the woman finally found her words.

"What? What are you talking about? Didn't you say the city was safe now?"

Goku was silent for a second. He clenched his fists tightly and the woman saw blood drip from his hands.

"If you do what I say, I may be able to save at least one innocent life."

With that, he soared into the air and flew away, his energy trailing behind him. On the ground, the woman stood still for a second, barely unable to comprehend what had just happened. She was tempted to just ignore the warnings and think of them as mad ramblings.

But then she remembered the look upon his face. The face that moments ago had been smiling and happy.

She gulped hard. Turning on her heel, she passed by her fallen groceries and the unconscious soldier and rushed towards the nearby garage where her car was stored.

* * *

Vernal stumbled a little as another loud explosion up above shook the ground around them as they descended further down.

Cinder smirked slightly as the girl righted herself.

"You still seem quite worried child," she said sweetly, "You have nothing to fear now. We have left those other fools behind. They will not dare follow us down here."

Vernal nodded dumbly, letting Cinder's words wash over her. Beside her, Raven frowned slightly at the Fall Maiden.

"You don't seem to be concerned about the well-being of your comrades. Without us, they are now woefully outnumbered by those Huntsmen. Normally, that would not be too concerning, but these Huntsmen have undeniably become far stronger since their schools' days."

Cinder scoffed at Raven's words.

"I am sure that they will be fine. Those Huntsmen are too soft for their own good. They may act strong and menacing, but when it comes down to it, they aren't capable of killing someone. No matter how evil they are in their eyes."

"What about the army?" Vernal asked quietly.

As if on cue, the ground shook violently once more as another explosion occurred above. Cinder was silent for a few seconds, and Raven and Vernal saw a flash of discontent on her face. It was replaced shortly by a smug grin.

"Those men are nothing to worry about. They are just simple grunts and no trouble for my comrades."

"So, you are sure that nothing can go wrong?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.

Once again, Cinder paused, and a troubling look came over her. It did not go away as she said, her voice low, "Well… I do want this to be over with quickly and leave. After all, Frieza is on his way."

A cold chill filled the hole, though no wind blew so deep underground. Vernal shivered at the name. It just reminded her of the danger she was in, acting as a false Maiden and fighting in a battle that she was quite unprepared for. Fighting with Oscar had been further proof of that.

The elevator was silent for a bit, everyone caught in their own thoughts. All the while, the sounds of fighting and explosion up above continued, progressively getting quieter as they descended.

After a while, in which Raven and Vernal had lost track of time, Cinder finally spoke suddenly, her voice loud after the quiet.

"We are approaching."

The other two looked around, only seeing the same grey walls. However, as they looked, the walls seemed to become more visible, as if more light was permeating in the tunnel. Within a few seconds, a definite bluish tinge was visible, casting them in a strange glow. Suddenly, the walls gave way to a sight that took the breath away from everyone on the platform.

The lift descended in on a massive cavern, the ceiling of which was not visible. At the bottom, a stone pathway led from the elevator towards the centerpiece of the room, a massive tree with bright yellow lights as leaves, twinkling cheerfully in the dim environment. The blue glow from earlier shown from lights on the pathway, giving it a very electronic look.

"Wow," Vernal said, her worries temporarily fading away as she stared in awe at the scene.

Beside her, Raven said nothing, though her red eyes took in the cavern. They narrowed on something at the base of the tree.

"Is that…?"

"Indeed it is," Cinder said, following Raven's gaze and smiling widely.

The two were staring at a large golden door like structure, constructed at the base of the tree. Though it had the framing of a door or gate, it did not quite look like one. Instead of hinges or nobs, numerous gears were set into it, covered by large metal plates with no visible way of activating them.

The lift covered the last few meters, finally stopping smoothly at the bottom. The three passengers stepped off, Vernal glancing back quickly to see if the platform would suddenly start ascending up. To her relief, it stayed in place.

"Come this way," Cinder said, her voice trembling with excitement, "We don't have a moment to lose."

They walked quickly, their footsteps echoing off of the rocky walls. Down here, it was eerily quiet. All the noise from the surface had died away completely and any small tremors that the explosions created was not felt.

As they walked, Raven slowed a little to walk next to Vernal. She said nothing, but her hand drifted to the hilt of her sword. Vernal noticed the motion and understood that even her Chief was unnerved by this place. Or maybe because this was where the moment of truth came.

They made it to the door without any incident. Cinder stood before it for a few moments, examining its features closely and muttering a few things under her breath. Raven and Vernal stood a few feet behind her, waiting for the Fall Maidens que.

It came sooner than later. Cinder stepped to the side and gestured to Vernal.

"Well then," she said, her one remaining eye twinkling with something akin to hunger, "If our Spring Maiden would be so kind."

Vernal gulped. She suddenly felt as if her legs had turned into jelly, barely able to hold up her own weight. The gate looming over her made her feel insignificant, further preventing her from complying with the order.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, Vernal's gaze met Raven's. The Chief's eyes pierced through her, however not in a way that was threatening or angry. After a moment, she simply nodded and Vernal felt a slight rush of warmth enter her. Sometimes all she needed was reassurance from the one she loved.

Vernal took a deep breath before stepping forward, passing by the eager Cinder. Standing before the gate, she suddenly felt quite awkward. Not just because she didn't have the power to open the door, but because she didn't know how to act like she was opening the door. After mulling it over for a quick second, she decided to simply raise her hand over the surface of the door, hoping it would look like she was using her power.

As she did so, she heard Raven sigh behind her and knew she was using her power. At first, nothing happened. Cinder tapped her foot impatiently, her face beginning to darken. But she needn't have worried.

A sudden creaking began to resonate around the cavern, growing louder by the second. It took a second for the group to realize that it was the gears on the door turning. They watched, bewitched, as the gears steadily turned under the metal plates. Then, the plates themselves began to move, sliding down and disappearing into the sides of the doors.

The process only took about a minute, yet it had felt like a lifetime had passed. Even when it did finish, no one moved. They were frozen, staring at what the door had revealed, enraptured by an entirely new spectacle.

Through the door, instead of the inside of the massive tree, a sandy landscape could be seen as if the gate had opened a portal to a desert. However, that strange sight was far from the vocal point. Floating quietly in the center, shining slightly in contrast with the surrounding area, was a bright blue ornate lamp. It had a round center and two large handles on each side. On top was a small ring, used to hold the lamp aloft.

There was a long silence. No one could speak as they stared at the Relic of Knowledge, an artifact of legend. Something that was considered by many to be a fairy tale. But what they saw was real.

The lengthy silence was finally broken by Cinder, who was wearing an expression of insatiable lust.

"So that's the Relic…," she breathed, "It's so beautiful."

Then she seemed to remember she wasn't alone and straightened up, coughing a little. She proceeded to smile at Vernal and Raven and then, to their surprise, gesture towards the Relic.

"My sincerest thanks for helping us in this business," she said, her voice sickeningly sweet, "As promised, Salem will hold up her end of the bargain and make sure that your tribe is protected from any harm. And as a bonus, I am willing for our dear young Spring Maiden to go in and retrieve the Relic. I believe it's quite appropriate."

As she finished talking, something in her voice changed. It was subtle, but Raven tensed suddenly, her eyes narrowing. She was about to say something to Vernal, but the girl began walking into the gate and towards the Relic. Her eyes were transfixed by the artifact, unable to think about anything else. Under her feet, the sand felt smooth and very real. Even the temperature around her rose suddenly as she walked into the desert landscape and she saw that the desert expanded out to the horizon as far as the eye could see.

But she did not concern herself with that. Her eyes solely on the Relic and as she got nearer, her arm began to reach for it, fingers trembling.

A sudden clang behind her snapped her out of her daze. She whirled around to see her Chief standing before her, sword raised and glaring fiercely in the direction of Cinder. Vernal looked at the Fall Maiden and her blood ran cold, her eyes widening in fear.

Until now, Cinder's red robe had been made to cover her right side, including her arm. This had not troubled anyone, being a popular trend for some women in Remnant. However, Raven and Vernal saw that in Cinder's case, it was no fashion choice.

In place of her right arm, a thin black skeletal arm protruded from her robe, ending in claws with razor sharp talons. As she watched, Vernal saw the arm receding back towards Cinder and she suddenly understood what had happened. In her trance, she had fallen for Cinder's trap, turning her back on the Fall Maiden and allowing her to attack her by stretching out her deformed arm. However, Raven had not been fooled and was quick enough to stop the arm from piercing into Vernal.

Cinder smirked evilly, her black arm returning to its normal length.

"Impressive reflexes there, Raven," she said, her voice dripping with malice, "If you hadn't been quick enough, my arm would have drained your poor little Maiden of all her powers, including her very life."

Raven grit her teeth, keeping her eyes fixed on Cinder. Beside her, Vernal reached for her own weapons, ready to fight alongside her chief. Her eyes were also glued to Cinder, though she wasn't looking at her face.

"What is that?" Vernal asked, unable to stop herself.

Cinder looked confused for a second, not understanding the question. Then she glanced down at her right arm and chuckled.

"Oh this?" she said, raising her black arm and wiggling the clawed fingers, "Just something that my master gifted me with. Created from her own powers, an arm of a Grimm. Perfect for killing unsuspecting enemies and draining the life out of them."

Vernal blanched, feeling her courage waver.

"You delusional psycho," Raven whispered, "You sold part of your humanity for power… that's how dark magic like that works."

Cinder looked surprised that Raven knew this piece of information. However, she only sneered in the woman's direction.

"It seems someone has been doing their homework," she mocked, "Not much good that will do to you once I absorb the Maiden powers from your friend. I will have powers that exceed any Huntsmen on this planet. I will be stronger than those damn fighters from the other world. I may even be able to fight Frieza!"

Raven shook her head, crouching into a fighting stance, holding her sword with both hands.

"There are many things you just said that are incorrect. One, even with the powers of two Maidens, you are no match for Goku or Vegeta. And you are light years away from fighting that monster Frieza. Second, I will not allow you to kill my loyal comrade to satisfy your own thirst for power. And finally, you will leave her out in general because she is not the one you are after."

There was a long silence. Cinder stared hard at Raven, registering what the chief said. Then her face darkened, connecting the dots.

"So," she said, her voice deadly calm, "I was being fooled this entire time. That wretch behind you was never the Maiden was she. It's you, Raven Branwen. You are the Spring Maiden."

"Yes," Raven said, her voice hard and confident, "I am the Spring Maiden."

As she said this, her eyes began to glow with a red mystical light, similar to the orange fiery light that glowed around Cinder's eyes when she concentrated her power. Around her, the sand began to shift, carried by the sudden wind orbiting Raven.

Cinder did not back down from this show of power and aggression. In fact, she simply began activating her own power, fiery columns of fire beginning to swirl about. As she did, her lips twisted into a crazy smile.

"So be it, Raven. Then I will just have to kill you and take the power by force!"

Raven did not respond. Instead, she charged forward, exiting the desert landscape and engaging Cinder in combat. The Fall Maiden summoned a crystalline staff and parried Raven's first sword strike and the two began exchanging blows, the air around them becoming steadily windier. Every once in a while, fire coiled from them and they aimed it at each other.

As Vernal watched, her arms hanging by her sides limply, the two Maidens began fighting more seriously. They took to the air, floating with fiery orbs around them, and began to charge into each other, smashing each other to the ground and firing even larger blasts of aura at one another. Their powers seemed to come at an impasse, neither inflicting serious damage to the other with elemental attacks or physical attacks.

Vernal was about to run out and help her chief, but she stopped after taking one step. She couldn't do it. How could she do anything in this type of fight? These were two people who outclassed her by leagues. If she entered, she would probably distract Raven and give Cinder a piece of leverage.

"There must be another way," she said to herself, recoiling as Raven was frozen by a beam of ice and then brought down to the ground by a slash from Cinder's staff, "How can I help?"

Suddenly, an idea came to her. She turned back to the Relic and rushed towards it, grasping the upper ring. On contact, the lamp, which had been the size of a human baby, shrank to the size comparable to a bowling bowl. Vernal held it, finding it to be surprisingly light. But she did not idle on the thought long.

With the Relic in hand, she sprinted out of the gate and onto the stone pathway. A few meters before her, Cinder was looming over Raven, who was struggling to recover after the last attack. From under Cinder's robe, the back arm began to creep out, razor sharp talons reaching towards Raven.

"STOP!" Vernal yelled with all the force she could muster.

The two Maiden's turned to her. Their eyes widened at the sight of the Relic in Vernal's hand.

"What do you think you're doing with that, girl?" Cinder asked menacingly.

In response, Vernal raised her other hand and pointed her weapon at the Relic, turning off the safety.

"Back away from my chief," she snarled, "Or your little lamp gets it."

Cinder turned to stare at Vernal, her face contorting to rage and this gave Raven the opportunity she was looking for. She swiftly raised her hand and blasted a column of fire directly into Cinder's remaining eye. The Fall Maiden screamed in agony, her aura pulsating as it tried to absorb the blow. She backed away, covering her eye and wailing in a mixture of pain and outrage.

Raven got to her feet and charged another elemental attack. However, before she could launch it at Cinder, the wounded Maiden uttered a guttural cry of rage and began wildly firing beams of aura. They hit the cavern walls and ceiling, tearing through the rocks and sending them plummeting down towards the trio.

"You imbecile!" Raven said, dodging a particular large boulder, "You will bring the whole cavern down upon us!"

But Cinder was not listening to reason. She continued to fire attacks randomly, damaging the infrastructure of the cavern and causing the ground to shake dangerously. Vernal stumbled, still holding the Relic in one hand. Her moment of courage was quickly fading as she saw the cavern begin to collapse on top of them. Her only thought was that she was done for and that the only consolation to her death was that she was going to die alongside her chief.

She felt a powerful hand grip her tightly and she looked to see Raven dragging her forcefully.

"Grab on to me," she ordered, "I'm going to fly us out of here. I won't let you die after all that you have done."

"Chief Branwen…," Vernal could not say anymore. Instead she wrapped her arms around Raven, making sure to hold the Relic tightly in one hand. The moment she was secure, Raven leaped up into the air, using her Maiden powers to propel her past falling rocks and up the deep tunnel that they had taken to get down. Within seconds, they had left the cavern below and were soaring up the narrow hole.

As they flew, Raven heard a sniffing sound behind her. She realized that it was Vernal and that she was crying on her back.

"What is the matter?"

Vernal choked a little, trying to find her voice. Once she did, she croaked, "Sorry. I didn't mean to be so weak. But I am just so scared. I just want to go home. Back to the tribe and forget this ever happened."

There was a long silence, only broken by the rushing of the wind. For a moment, Vernal thought that Raven would not respond to such sappy comments. But then, Raven spoke and Vernal was surprised to hear how gentle it was.

"You have nothing to apologize for Vernal. You have gone through an experience that many would never recover from. I promise you, once we get out of this tunnel, we are flying past everyone and going back to our tribe. Even if it takes up all my energy."

Vernal sobbed once more, but this time it was not of fear or anguish. It was one pure relief.

Unfortunately, it would not last long. As they flew up, they suddenly heard a roar of rage from below followed by an explosion of fire.

"GET BACK HERE WITH MY RELIC YOU WORTHLESS SCUM! I WILL INCINERATE YOUR BONES INTO ASH!"

Raven did not even look down to see Cinder coming. She just sped up, hoping to escape before the Fall Maiden caught up to them. Above, the light began to pour into the tunnel, signaling the exit was near. She pushed even harder, feeling Vernal tighten her grip around her. Below them, Cinder was racing towards, growing louder as she gained on them.

Just as Raven reached the opening, she felt a streak of burning hot energy as Cinder suddenly slammed into her. Together, the two grappled each other in midair, flying straight out of the tunnel and back into the main building, causing the Huntsmen and servants of Salem below to stare in surprise. They continued to fly, crashing through a wall in the process and finding themselves in the courtyard.

"GIVE ME THE RELIC!" Cinder screamed, her eye blood red from being shot at by Raven.

Raven struggled, trying to get them back on the ground so Vernal could get off this dangerous ride. She gripped Cinder tightly around both sides and, using all her upper body strength, soared the two of them straight into the ground.

The crash nearly caused Raven to black out. She suppressed a scream of pain as her body slammed into stones, her arms letting go of Cinder who was also screaming in pain. On her back, she felt Vernal slide off and tumble to the ground. Raven glanced quickly to see if the girl was okay and was relieved to see her mostly unharmed excepted for a couple bruises. The Relic of Knowledge was still gripped tightly in her hand.

Raven staggered to her feet, feeling her aura wavering. After engaging in a deathmatch with Cinder in the cavern and flying up a long tunnel only to once again have a midair wrestling match with a psychotic Maiden, it was no surprise she was running out of energy.

Unfortunately, her opponent seemed not to share this symptom. And if she did, she was much better at shrugging it off.

Cinder snarled at Raven, her robe in tatters, showing off her Grimm arm. She too was covered in wounds from her head to her feet, but she sneered cruelly at Raven. The Spring Maiden tried to back away, but she felt her knees give way and ended up staggering to the ground.

"Oh, is someone at their limit?" Cinder asked, her voice conveying no sympathy, "That's quite unfortunate. But it will make this so much easier and even more satisfying!"

Cinder raised her hands and crystals began shimmering around her. They came togethering, forming a weapon that turned out to be longbow, a crystal arrow already knocked and ready to fire. Cinder cackled, raising the crystal bow and pointing directly at Raven.

Raven looked back to see Vernal, struggling to get up, her eyes starring with horror as she watched her chief stare down death. Raven smiled sadly back at her. As long as she got out of this, she would die doing her job. Looking at Vernal also reminded her of someone else. Her daughter, fighting nearby and trying to protect the world from devastation.

"I wish you luck," Raven said quietly, turning back to stare down Cinder, "My daughter. You have grown so much. Save this world from the hell that has come across it."

The Spring Maiden closed her eyes, resigning herself to her fate. Cinder's face cracked with a psychotic look as she released the arrow. It flew in a tight spiral, aiming straight for Raven's heart. Vernal screamed in anguish as she watched it travel, hopeless to do anything to stop what was about to happen.

A shadow jumped from the side. There was the boom of a shotgun blast and the clatter of shattering crystal. Raven opened her eyes in surprise, looking up to see that she had not been slain. Instead, parts of the arrow now lay on the ground around her. Standing before her, panting heavily and crouched in a fighting stance, was a girl with flowing yellow hair.

Cinder growled in irritation, glowering at the Huntress.

"You…"

Yang straightened up and cocked her gauntlet, a shotgun shell popping out.

"You will not kill anyone else. Especially not my family."

"But," Cinder tried to regain herself, fumbling to summon another crystal arrow, "You were ready to fight each other! Why are you defending her?!"

"Because," a new voice drawled, "It seems that allegiances have changed. For the better this time."

Cinder turned to see Qrow walking up, his broadsword held tightly in his hand. Behind, the rest of the hero's followed, all sharing the same grim face of determination. They had finished up with the Frieza Force that had entered building, all of them mostly unharmed besides being visibly exhausted. Dende was going between them, trying to heal everyone as best as he could, but even he was running out energy. Yet, Cinder recoiled at the looks of steely resolve plastered on each face.

"What?! Where are my comrades?" Cinder spluttered, suddenly finding herself quite outnumbered.

Running footsteps echoed off of the cobblestone path as if on cue. Mercury, Emerald, and Tyrion sprinted over, standing beside Cinder. They glared at the Huntsmen, but their hateful stares were marred by heavy gasping. It was easy to see that they were at their limits, even Tyrion.

"Cinder!" Emerald cried, seeing her master's ruined robes and wounded body, "Are you alright?!"

Before Cinder could reply, Tyrion spat out angrily, "Don't waste your breath on that you foolish girl! Where's the Relic for our Queen?"

Cinder scowled, pointing with her Grimm arm at Vernal, who was finally finding her footing. The Relic of Knowledge glowed faintly in her arms. Tyrion's stepped forward a few steps, his transfixed. However, Yang and Raven blocked his path, their faces hard as stone.

"Dende," Yang said, not turning away from Tyrion and Cinder, "Please heal my mother and Vernal."

Dende, sweating all over, looked between Yang and Raven, slightly hesitant. But he saw the look in Yang's eye and decided it would be best not to argue. He nodded and ran forward, healing Vernal first. Meanwhile, the servants of Salem started to advance but stopped when all the Huntsmen came forward. Even with the addition of Mercury, Emerald, and Tyrion, Cinder's group was quite outnumbered.

"Where is Lionheart?" she asked Emerald, her eye beginning to convey traces of fear.

The green haired girl grimaced in anger and exhaustion.

"He fled once you went below ground. I don't where he is now."

"Freaking coward," Mercury muttered, "Though to be honest, who wouldn't be able to help at this point."

At this point, a Huntress stepped forward from the group and Cinder's face tensed as she met Ruby's gaze. The girl was staring at her, unsmiling, though not with hate. In fact, she wore an expression that reminded Cinder of pleading.

"You are surrounded," the young girl said, "You cannot win. But please, give up and help us!"

Cinder was far from the only one who was taken aback by this request. Even Ruby's own friends and teammates stared at her as if she had said something disgusting.

"Ruby," Jaune said, careful to keep his voice level, "What are you saying? How can these murderers help us!"

Ruby glared at him and Jaune saw the anger and pain in her silver eyes. She did not want to do what she was doing, but she had to try. There were other things to consider other than her personal feelings. And Jaune was only making it harder for her.

Chuckling from Cinder brought everyone's attention back to her. Despite her situation, she sniggered at Ruby.

"And why would I help you, Ruby Rose? The person that took my eye and thwarted our plans."

"Because we need everyone to fight against Frieza," said a voice.

They all turned to see Gohan, Krillin and Piccolo walking towards them. Behind them, clouds of smoke drifted into the sky from numerous scorch marks on the ground, created by powerful Ki blasts fired by the trio. Around the scorch marks, the Frieza Force was littered on the ground, either dead or unconscious after being trounced. In fact, the entire army had now been completely demolished.

Cinder and her comrades backed away slowly as the three fighters approached, her eyes flicking back and forth between them and the Huntsmen. The fear she was feeling was now palpable. On the other hand, Ruby and her friends smiled at their allies, happy to see them mostly unharmed.

"Gohan!" she cried joyously, "Thank god you're alright. You to, Krillin. And," she paused looking at Piccolo and tilting her head to the side, "Uh, who's your friend."

Dende perked up as he caught sight of Piccolo.

"That's another Namekian!" he exclaimed, running over and getting a closer look, "I thought all of my people were slaughtered."

Piccolo glanced down at Dende. Then he grunted.

"The name's Piccolo. I was never really part of the Namekain race, but that does not mean that I condone their annihilation at the hands of Frieza."

Dende nodded, still looking over Piccolo. It had been so long since he had seen another Namekain that he was slightly transfixed by Piccolo. Meanwhile, a few of the Huntsmen looked at Piccolo curiously, recognizing the name. It was Nora that finally piped up.

"Wait a second. Aren't you Gohan's teacher or something?"

Piccolo nodded shortly, not paying much heed to the question. Instead he turned to look at Cinder, his face hardening as he looked her up and down.

"So, this is Cinder Fall," he grunted, "I have heard a bit about you."

Bulma, who was standing beside Neo with her rifle, raised an eyebrow at Piccolo.

"You do? How?"

"Blake told me," he said simply.

The name caused the Huntsmen to start in surprise. Yang especially turned away from Cinder and stared at Piccolo, wondering if she he had heard him right. Piccolo saw all these expressions and smirked a little.

"So, you are her friends. I figured. Don't worry, Blake is fine. In fact," he pointed to a spot away from them, "She's busy taking out that scumbag there."

Everyone followed his finger and indeed saw the lithe blake haired figure of Blake, darting around Adam along with her companions Sun and Ilia. As they watched, the three converged on Adam, striking from all sides before he could dodge or block. Then they backed away swiftly, avoiding any counterattacks that Adam could try to pull. They moved with such smooth and powerful movements, the other Huntsmen couldn't help staring.

"Wow," Weiss breathed, watching the fight with an expression of awe, "Is it just me or has Blake gotten faster and more powerful?"

"She definitely is," Ren confirmed, "Not just her. Sun has as well."

"That's because I trained them," Piccolo stated, watching with a small grin on his face, "I did not go easy on them. But they prevailed and our now reaping the rewards."

Then he glanced over at the other Huntsmen and asked, "You kids also seem to be just as powerful. I presume you were trained as well?"

Ruby nodded, grinning over at Gohan and Krillin.

"Those two, Vegeta, and Goku molded us into all new Huntsmen. You should proud of Gohan. He did a fantastic job!"

Gohan blushed a little, turning away. Piccolo glanced at him for a moment. Then he smiled.

"I wouldn't expect anything less. Gohan has the potential to become far more powerful than all of us. He just doesn't like to admit it."

Gohan reddened even more and fixated on the ground, embarrassed. Qrow came to his rescue, though his words were not too reassuring.

"I hate to break up the party, but we are not out of the woods. For one, Frieza is on his way and we are all basically sitting ducks. Second," he gestured to the servants of Salem, "What do we do about them? They don't seem eager to join forces against Frieza."

Raven shifted her feet, raising her sword once more. Her eyes flashed menacingly.

"I say we kill them," she said, her tone ice cold, "They are traitorous bastards and serve a cause that wants nothing but misery for the world."

Cinder sneered in Raven's direction, crouching slightly in preparation for another fight. It was obvious that the Fall Maiden was not planning to go down quietly. Raven seemed about to attack when a guttural cry of fury cut through the air, catching everyone's attention. Both Huntsmen and servants of Salem glanced over at Adam Taurus fighting Blake and her friends. The general of the Frieza Force had collapsed to his knees, his chest heaving and body trembling. It was him who had uttered to cry of fury, the emotion getting to him. Before him, Blake, Sun, and Ilia stood, looking down at him, no traces of pity or mercy in their faces.

As the group watched, Adam struggled back to his feet and charged forward once more, raising his katana to slash across Blake. The cat faunus jumped to the side, using the pistol attachment of her machete to fire a few shots at Adam. The shots connected and the bull faunus bellowed in anger, his aura flickering weakly. He turned around once more, ready to charge Blake once more but was interrupted by Sun. The monkey faunus slammed his long staff into Adam's stomach and sending him tumbling a few yards. As he fell, his katana clattered to the ground, leaving him defenseless. Despite this, his anger blinding him, he got up once more and screamed, sprinting towards Sun, who twirled his staff in preparation. But before he could counter Adam, Ilia suddenly jumped forward and lashed the bull faunus with her whip, activating an electric charge. The electricity coursed through Adam and he froze, spluttering as his aura shattered completely. Ilia did not let him rest and proceeded to kick him in the chest, pushing him back to the ground where he finally lay still, twitching slightly from the electricity.

The three newly trained faunus surrounded Adam, glowering down at him. They did not say anything, content to just stare at his battered and defeated body. Eventually, he began hacking, saliva and blood splashing out on the ground near him. As he did so, he looked up at the three, his deep loathing showing through all the pain.

"Y-you f-filthy cretins," he croaked, "Y-you dare do this to m-me?! A f-fellow faunus?!"

Blake clenched her fists. For a second, a flash of sympathy crossed her face. But it quickly disappeared by white hot anger. She brandished her weapon down at Adam.

"WHAT ABOUT ALL THE FAUNUS YOU SLAUGHTERED?! MY PARENTS?! WHERE WAS YOUR LOYALTY?!"

Her arm began shaking as her emotion began taking over. Tears pooled in her eyes as she choked out sobs. From afar, Piccolo watched quietly, seeing the thoughts that Blake had stored up for since the attack spill out. Gohan glanced up at his mentor and saw the tension in his face. The boy could only guess what had happened to cause such and emotional outburst.

Meanwhile, Adam stared at Blake, stunned to see her suddenly crying. Next to the sobbing faunus, Sun put a hand around her and she suddenly collapsed into him, losing all control. This exchange was like a spear through Adam's heart.

"So that's it," he said, "You left me for this… thing. Just because you never agreed with me. But you could have had it all. Everything. But no, you decide to run away, as always. Even now, you are weak."

Sun growled, holding Blake tighter. He was about to yell something back at Adam when Ilia stepped forward. Her face was dark, literally due to her chameleon powers reflecting the anger and betrayal she felt.

"Your relationship between Blake is a figment of your imagination," Ilia said quietly, her voice shaking, "But you have become so delusional from it, you believe it to be true."

Adam snarled at Ilia. The chameleon faunus did not back down. In fact, she stepped closer, pushing her foot down on Adam's wounded body, causing him to take a sharp intake of breath.

"But I don't care about that," she continued, "I care about why you betrayed your race. The race you helped to rebuild. The race you fought for, killed for. The race you belonged to. You massacred them all."

Adam coughed up a bit more blood before snorting derisively.

"I thought I told you," he spat, "I have a new master now. A master far greater than any in this world."

"THAT'S RIGHT!" a voice boomed from nearby.

Ginyu lay a few feet away, his body broken and battered. His clothes were torn and ripped, parts completely gone. Despite this, he gave Adam a look of proud approval.

"Adam is now a part of the Frieza Force! He owes his life to Lord Frieza for sparing him and training him! He will not-"

His speech was suddenly interrupted by Vegeta, who flew in and slammed his knee into the Captain's back.

"Shut your trap!" the Prince yelled down at him, "Frieza did no such thing to that poor fool. He tortured him, mentally and physically to do his bidding, making sure to break his mind with the constant fear of death!"

Ginyu tried to speak but Ilia spoke up, glaring down at Adam, a new fire in her eyes.

"I don't care! That isn't enough to justify committing genocide on one's own race!"

There was a tense silence. Her words echoed around the campus, allowing everyone to hear them clearly. Blake shook violently, trying to stand on her own without the help of Sun, and walked over to Ilia, putting a hand on her childhood friend's shoulder.

"Ilia," she said, her voice cracked, "Please."

"Please what, Blake?" Ilia said, rounding on her, "Please don't talk about that? I know it hurts to remember, but what drove a faunus who loved his people and at one-point die for them to do what he did!"

Ilia suddenly reached for Adam's face and forcibly ripped off the Grimm mask he always wore, revealing his face.

Over his right eye, a number had been branded into the skin, causing the faunus's face to be disfigured on one side. His left side was mostly untouched, but the normal white eye contrasted horribly with the pure red right eye, burnt by the brand.

Blake recoiled, her eyes as dark as her hair. She tried to say something, but another voice cut in.

"He already told you."

It was Vegeta. He had one foot planted on Ginyu's face as he scowled at Ilia. The faunus scowled right back, her temper rising.

"What? You mean because some person told him to?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"

Vegeta was silent. He looked into Ilia's angry dark eyes with his own and saw the ignorance behind it all.

"You have never met him."

Ilia scoffed at this, her voice rising hysterically.

"Oh, is that it? If I meet him, I will know why my people were slaughtered?! WILL IT EXPLAIN THE FAUNUS ADAM AS BECOME?! THEN PLEASE, WHERE IS HE? I WOULD LOVE TO MEET HIM!"

"My," a sudden icy voice said from above, "I wasn't expecting someone to demand my presence."

The area went dead cold. Everyone on the Haven Academy campus stared up, their faces whitening in horror and terror. Even the proud Prince Vegeta stepped back, trembling in shock.

Ilia only had time to register that a new voice had spoken. Before she could turn to look up, a strange sound came rushing towards her. And then she felt the beam of energy pierce her heart.

"ILIA!" Blake shrieked, stumbling towards her friend as she fell. She caught her before she hit the ground, cradling her in her arms and sobbing uncontrollably. A warm sensation began to drip on her knees as Blake felt the blood flowing from the circular wound in Ilia's chest.

"N-no," Blake pleased through sobs, "P-please, stay with me!"

Sun rushed to her side. He kneeled down and pressed his hands down on Ilia's wound, blood spurting through his fingers. But even as he attempted to slow the loss of blood, Ilia's blank stare turned to look at Blake. Her lips parted slightly, and Blake was able to just make out a few words.

"R-run, Blake. R-run."

Then her head lolled back. Her body went limp in Blake's arms, growing paler as blood kept trickling out.

Blake and Sun stared in horror as they watched the life of their dear friend drift away. At that moment in time, nothing else mattered. They brought their heads down and broke down into hacking sobs and screams of despair that wrenched the soul of anyone within earshot.

"Ilia…," Piccolo muttered quietly, watching as his students wept. He tightened his fists and suddenly began forward. However, a hand gripped his own tightly and held him firmly. He spun around, about to wrench himself free when he saw it was Gohan. The half-Saiyan was not staring at him. His hollow and pale expression was fixed on a spot above the faunus.

Lord Frieza scanned the campus, his finger still raised after killing Ilia. His eyes traveled over the wreckage, the numerous Frieza Soldier bodies, and finally other the remaining people. His twisted grin only grew when he spotted the brats he had seen taking his wish. But his jubilation grew to a peak when he saw Vegeta, trembling just a few yards away next to Ginyu.

"It has been too long, Vegeta," he said, his voice carrying mock sadness, "I'm surprised you or any of the other brats didn't sense me approaching. I know you are capable. But maybe you were just too preoccupied."

Vegeta stuttered, trying to get a comprehensible word out. However, all he could muster were noises unbefitting of a prince. Frieza's smile only widened at the attempt.

"Don't worry," he said, slowly descending to the ground, "I am not offended, Vegeta. How could I be after you have given me such a good gift already."

He touched down gently, his cold red eyes fixed on Vegeta. He raised his finger once more and a beam of purple energy bloomed.

"Your life," he finished, pure cruelty in each syllable.

The Prince of all Saiyan's did not move, paralyzed by the fear and power Frieza exerted. He wasn't the only one. All the other fighters, Huntsmen, and servants of Salem were frozen, their bodies unable to move from the sheer force that was Frieza. His seemingly polite demeanor did nothing to really mask the bloodlust flowing off of him. And they were all targets to that bloodlust.

Vegeta stared in mute horror at the being that had tortured and mocked him since he was a boy. The being he swore vengeance upon. But at this moment, all the training and preparation he had done now felt like nothing. It did not matter. He was going to die.

His turmoil must have shown as Frieza's sadistic smile grew wider. He paused his attack, savoring the look upon Vegeta's face. A look he had been dying to see for so long.

"My lord!" a voice called out suddenly.

Frieza's smile faded as he turned to glare at Adam, groveling at his feet. The bull faunus was a mess, bleeding from several deep wounds and his clothes in tatters. However, he looked up at Frieza and tried for a winning smile.

"I hope you are pleased! I have found you the ingrates that dare defy you!"

The energy bubbling at the tip of Frieza's finger faded as the emperor turned to his general. His entire expression had shifted. The triumphantly sadistic look had changed to a look of absolute disgust, as if Adam was a piece of sludge, he had stepped in.

"Tell me, Adam," Frieza spoke, his voice cold as a glacier, "How was your mission?"

Adam's smile faltered. He cowered under the look his master was giving him, the joy he had experience at seeing him giving way to a rush of fear.

"Well," Adam began, his voice shaking so much that his words barely came out audibly, "O-our f-forces i-invaded t-the-"

Frieza's hand shot forward and grasped Adam by the throat. He effortlessly lifted him up, his eyes shining with unmistakable malice.

"Allow me to summarize for you," he spat, "Your battalion was crushed. The city is not under our control. And you have come back to me half-dead once more after fighting a group of kids."

Adam struggled desperately, trying to free himself. Frieza barely noticed his attempts and continued to choke him.

Then, he suddenly let go and stepped away. For a second, Adam caught his breath, relief spreading. That was until he realized he hadn't fallen to the ground. A light purple energy was shrouding him, keeping him in afloat in the air. The terror came right back, and he looked at Frieza pleadingly.

The tyrant tutted in disappointment, his eloquent demeanor returning.

"You know, I was really hoping you would turn out better," he said, the ingenuine words cutting through Adam more than his yelling, "I trusted you with this mission, ready to accept you fully into the Frieza Force. But," his smirk melted, morphing into a scowl of absolute disdain, "I guess I was wrong."

He raised his hand towards Adam and slowly began closing it into a fist. The last thing Adam thought before he felt the unpleasant tug in his gut was that if he had the chance in the afterlife, he would find every single faunus he killed and plead for forgiveness.

He screamed in agony as Frieza's energy compressed around him and imploded his body. As everyone watched, their eyes glued to the spectacle, smoke and blood billowed from the explosion.

Frieza turned away from the remains of his former general and was about to proceed with Vegeta, when his eye caught sight of Blake and Sun, still huddled over Ilia's body. They stared at him, their pupils dilating as he looked at him. The look made the emperor's lips twist into a cruel smile.

"Oh, I apologize," he said, bowing mockingly, "Was he your companion? If so, you should be quite grateful," his evil smile bore into them, "He was just a filthy animal after all. Just like the one at your feet."

These words flowed out of his mouth and into the ears of everyone. And when they registered, the campus suddenly came crashing back to reality. The paralysis broke and opened the gates for the pent-up rage. Especially for three individuals.

Simultaneously, Blake, Weiss, and Yang all turned to face Frieza directly. Their rage, anguish, grief, and power came off of them all in a rush of pure adrenaline. Their sights were set on the only thing that mattered. The only thing they could think of.

"You killed my entire family," Weiss said, "And took my home."

"You killed my parents," Blake spoke, "Destroyed my island and its people. Killed my friend in cold blood."

"Threatened my friends," Yang growled, "Killed people who meant something."

The three all looked up at Frieza, their eyes flashing with a fiery light. They spoke in unison, their emotions blending together.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE DONE, FRIEZA!"

They charged from where they stood, yelling a war cry that spoke volumes. Behind them, their friends started, screaming their names in desperation, trying to stop them. But they did not hear them. Their entire being was focused solely on Frieza as they flew towards him.

But that all shattered when he turned to look at them. The three Huntresses saw the cruel lips twist into that sadistic evil grin. The blood red eyes focused on them, promising them a fate they could not escape.

Time seemed to slow down. As Frieza raised his finger, Weiss, Blake and Yang saw their life flash before their eyes. As the energy formed at the tip of the finger, they finally heard the cries of desperation of their friends. And as they saw the purple beam of death shot out and split into three separate beams, each Huntress realized that their anger and determination meant nothing. Nothing against the laughing monster about to kill them. A laugh that would haunt them even after death.

Suddenly, several things happened at once. As the death beam rocketed towards Weiss, a speeding figure flew in front of Weiss. Goku grabbed her and shielded her from the attack. The Saiyan cried out in pain as the attack hit his back, not piercing through but exploding on impact and leaving a sizable sizzling wound. He spiraled out of control and flew towards the ground, making sure to protect Weiss as he crashed. Once on the ground, the Saiyan lay on the ground while the Huntress panicked over him, crying out his name.

At the same time, as Blake stared down the beam of energy heading towards her, a white cloak billowed around her. She heard a grunt of suppressed pain as the beam exploded on the figure shielding her. Blake's eyes widened in horror as she saw Piccolo fall towards the ground, trailing smoke from his smoldering cape. She leapt after him, landing next to him and coming over, tears streaming down her face.

Finally, as Frieza's attack soared to meet Yang, the yellow haired Huntress closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable pain to hit. However, instead of the pain of being pierced through the chest, she felt a powerful force smash into her shoulder, pushing her off course and onto the ground. Yang opened her eyes in bewilderment, wondering what just happened. When she looked, her heart stopped. Vegeta stood before her, groaning in agony as the Ki blast hit his shoulder, piercing right through and creating a perfectly circular hole. He gasped, coughing out blood before buckling to his knees and collapsing to the ground. Yang stumbled to him, desperately putting her hands on the wound and trying to prevent the blood from pouring out.

All this happened within a matter of seconds. The others all stared in horror as Goku, Piccolo, and Vegeta fell to the ground, mortally wounded and at the mercy of Frieza. They all began forward, determined to help but they all froze once more as Frieza began laughing again. A terrible heartless laugh that chilled the bone and made the strength drain away. Even Krillin and Gohan, looking in deep concern at their fellow fighters were stopped by the laugh. It reminded them that the only possible result of charging forward was death.

"OHOHOH!" Frieza laughed, his face breaking into a smug expression, "What an unexpected surprise! That was quite the show you put on!"

Goku stirred, trying to get up at the mocking words. But Weiss quickly pushed him down, whispering in his ear, "Please don't move. You will die."

However, Frieza didn't seem as interested in Goku or Piccolo for that matter. His gleeful eyes locked onto Vegeta first. He began walking over, slowly but deliberately, each step ringing out loudly.

Yang instinctively crawled back as the emperor approached, trying to suppress a scream. The demon reached her and Vegeta and, ignoring Yang completely, reached down and dragged the Prince up by his long spiky black hair. There he stared into the half-conscious eyes of the proud Saiyan, his cruel smile not fading in the slightest. Frieza said nothing for a second, enjoying the moment for a bit. When he spoke, his tone was beyond condescending.

"I must say, Vegeta, I am actually quite impressed. Did you actually just sacrifice yourself to save someone else? You? The so called 'Prince of all Saiyan's'?"

Frieza chortled at the very notion of the idea. Vegeta's eyelid twitched as he looked at the tyrant holding him aloft.

"Y-you… b-bastard," he croaked, barely audible.

Frieza just smirked.

"I can't even count how many times I have heard that before I kill someone. Surely you have something better to say, Prince?"

Suddenly, a robotic fist flew towards Frieza's face. Without even looking, Frieza used his other arm to block Yang's punch, feeling nothing as it connected.

"Let… go… of… him," Yang heaved, her eyes red and her hair tinged with a fiery red light.

Through his fading vision, Vegeta stared as his student used her Semblance against Frieza. The same feeling that came over him as he watched her charging towards her doom came over him once more. The need to protect her somehow.

"Yang…," he tried yelling, though it came out as a weak whisper, "Run…"

Yang glanced at him, the shock at what he had just said on her face. But before she could do anything else, Frieza finally noticed her. His tail coiled around from behind him and shot forward, wrapping itself tightly around Yang's throat. As she choked and struggled, he pressed his scouter and read her power level. Then he snorted derisively.

"You have been making some weak friends, Vegeta. This girl is impressive for this world, but other than that she is quite insignificant. I wonder," Frieza turned to look at the group of terrified Huntsmen and servants of Salem on the sidelines. He scanned each one of them, reading their power levels. Then he shook his head in mock disappointment.

"These are the best this world can offer? Quite unfortunate," he turned his gaze back upon Vegeta, his eyes flashing, "You really thought you could defeat me with a couple of kids and your pride?"

At these words, something small awoke in Vegeta. He mustered up his strength, grunting with the effort and spluttered out something that made the galactic tyrant falter.

"Mark my words, Frieza. I will defeat you. I will become the Super Saiyan!"

The words rang around. Nearby, Goku stirred again, turning his head to look at Vegeta. Even Piccolo looked over from where he lay, Blake and Sun both supporting him.

Frieza was silent, his smile giving way to a grimace of annoyance. He tightened his hold on Vegeta's hair and the Prince bit his tongue to keep himself from screaming.

"The Super Saiyan…," Frieza said, "You will become that? Enough of your foolish jokes, Vegeta. I think it is time I show you where you belong. But first," his grin came back in full as he gestured to Yang, his tail tightening around her neck, "Watch as I kill the only person you cared about in your pathetic life!"

Vegeta watched, helpless to do anything as Yang choked, her windpipe beginning to get crushed.

"No…," Ruby said from the side, staring in horror as her sister faced death. The sight finally broke the fear that froze her.

"NO! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!"

She stepped forward and as she did so, her eyes tingled, and she felt the same rush of energy she had felt during training. She did not suppress it, ready to unleash it on the demon killing her sister.

She felt several hands grab her and try to pull her back. The voices of Jaune, Nora, Ren, and Dende echoing in her head. She fought against them, trying to advance forward and do something, anything to stop Frieza from killing Yang.

A shadow charged past her. Ruby watched in stunned silence as Raven Branwen raised her sword and brought it down upon Frieza's tail, using all her Maiden powers to boost the attack. It slammed against the tail and Raven roared, trying to push it further down. However, despite all the powers of the Spring Maiden, the sword did not cut through the tail. But it did manage to catch the emperor's attention.

Raven felt like a deer caught in the headlights of a car as Frieza's red eyes turned to look at her. She tried to move, back away and strike again, but those eyes held her in place.

"Another one," Frieza mused, "If I recall, your power level was one of the highest of the group from this world. It seems that went to your head a little."

Raven breathed in deeply, using all her willpower not to cower away. She was a proud member of the Branwen tribe. She would not let this demon see her fear.

"Unhand my daughter," she spoke, her voice hard and commanding, "Fight me instead."

Yang grunted, trying to say something. Back at the group, Raven heard Vernal gasp and scream her name. But she did not listen. Her attention was now fixed on the Lord as he considered her demand. To her absolute surprise, he replied, "So this is your daughter? I see. Then of course, I shall release her."

Unfortunately, the response was able to catch Raven completely off guard. Before she realized her mistake, Frieza dropped Vegeta to the ground and whipped his tail around, still wrapped around Yang, and slammed Raven in the side, sending her sprawling. As he hit Raven, Frieza unwrapped his tail from Yang's neck, letting the momentum of his strike carry Yang in the same direction as her mother. The two fell next to each other on the ground, drained of any strength and on the verge of losing consciousness.

"As promised," Frieza said, "I released your daughter. Now," he raised his finger and pointed it at the two, "I will grant you the gift of dying together."

He took little time to fire, the beam of energy soaring straight for them. However, as it traveled, running footsteps suddenly resonated across the courtyard. As Raven and Yang watched in horror, Vernal sprinted the distance to them with unnatural speed and leapt in front of them. Raven screamed as she watched the purple beam puncture through Vernal's back and sail just over her own head. The loyal girl collapsed to the ground, coughing out blood as her aura failed and left her to cope with the fatal wound.

"Vernal…," Raven croaked, crawling towards her. But by the time she reached her side, the girl's face was lifeless, her eyes open wide, still conveying the fear and pain she felt in her last few moments of life.

For the first time in her life, Raven Branwen hung her head and sobbed freely. She didn't care that Frieza was still there, ready to finish the job. She didn't care about the Relic, which had mysteriously disappeared from Vernal's hands. The only thing she thought about was the promise she made to the girl. A promise that had died along with her.

Frieza watched silently as the Spring Maiden sobbed. However, he was not smiling cruelly anymore. His face was contorted into deep irritation. He raised his finger once more, growling in annoyance.

"I am beginning to lose my patience with this lot. You will all die eventually so stop ruining my fun!"

Then he heard a small commotion. He turned to see the group yelling once more as another figure began flying over. However, this figure was familiar to Frieza. A small Namekian child.

As Dende flew towards Frieza, his thoughts were clear. Seeing the monster that had slaughtered his village back on Namek once again slaughter more people for sport was too much for him. He may not be able to fight, but he was not going sit idly by and allow people in need die. Especially when he was blessed with a power that could save them.

He flew straight for the wounded fighters, trying to ignore Frieza, who had now spotted him. The finger was turned upon Dende and the Namekian prayed that he could somehow get to them without being skewered by an energy beam. However, as he kept going, his determination pulling him through, a shadow fell upon him. He turned in surprise just in time to be slammed by Ginyu.

"DENDE!" Krillin yelled, fly towards the Namekian child as he soared across the campus, catching him before he crashed hard into a wall.

"Dende, please talk to me," Krillin said, shaking him slightly. He put his ear to Dende's chest and relief spread when he heard the rhythmic breathing. However, the healer of the group was out cold.

Ginyu straightened up, grinning while doing a pose of triumph. As he did so, Frieza spoke, chuckling a little.

"Good to see your still alive, Captain. It seems there is someone I can still count on, unlike that excuse of a general."

Ginyu's smile faded slightly at the mention of Adam. In fact, he hung his head down a little, avoiding his masters gaze. This did not go unnoticed.

"Is something the matter?" Frieza asked, "Did Vegeta damage you so much that you cannot talk?"

"No, my lord," Ginyu assured him, his voice less flamboyant than usual, "It's just… I believe there was more to that boy."

Frieza narrowed his cold eyes, his expression less than amused.

"Are you questioning my actions, Captain Ginyu?" he asked, his voice deadly calm.

The venomous undertone snapped Ginyu out of his momentarily stupor. He started, bowing quickly.

"No! Of course not, my lord!"

For a moment, Frieza's suspicion did not abate. He stared closely at the loyal member, wondering what had come over him. But after a moment, he dismissed it and grinned once more.

"Now then," he turned back to examine his victims, "Who should go next?"

"Why don't you try me?"

Frieza glanced over as Goku staggered to his feet, despite Weiss's pleas to stay down. He looked worn out, his martial arts clothing still smoking from the attack. He was hunched over slightly, displaying the incredible pain and discomfort the wound on his back was causing him. Despite this, he stared down Frieza, his jaw clenched tightly and his dark as obsidian.

"Hmm," Frieza seemed to consider Goku for a second. He clicked his scouter, scanning his power level. As he did so his eyes widened for a split-second, reading the information.

"Interesting," he muttered, clicking his scouter off and looking even closer at Goku, "Very interesting. His power is quite something. This must be the other monkey that Ginyu was talking about."

He looked over at the Captain for confirmation. He nodded and Frieza felt his mean grin return as his excitement rose. He turned back to Goku and asked, his voice polite and eloquent, "Tell me, Saiyan monkey. What is your name?"

"I am Goku," Goku said, "Son Goku."

As he said his name, a breeze blew about the campus. The two powerhouses stared each other down, a tyrant and a low-class warrior.

"Son Goku…," Frieza repeated slowly. Than his grin widened even more, and he mockingly bowed towards the Saiyan.

"Forgive me. I am just quite impressed with your power. You have been able to surpass the likes of my men and even Vegeta here. You are also standing after a direct hit from my Death Beam, a feat that few can boast about. However," Frieza looked back up, his red eyes locking on to Goku's black ones, "If you wish to fight me, I must warn you that you will be quite sorry. Your power does not compare to my own. But I am willing to compromise with an individual such as yourself. If you come work for me, I will spare your life."

"Not a chance," Goku said without hesitation, "I don't kill innocent people."

Frieza sighed.

"Such a shame," he regained his sadistic look, "But that just means I get to kill one more Saiyan monkey."

Goku crouched, tensing his body. Around him, the ground cracked as he charged up his power, his white energy surrounding him.

"Goku, don't!" Weiss yelled, "You are in no condition to fight!"

Goku did not listen. He continued to charge up. Suddenly, he yelled defiantly, and his energy suddenly became a crimson red as he yelled out the words, "KAIO-KEN TIMES 10!"

Watching from the side, Krillin blanched at the words.

"Wait… Goku! Don't do this! Your body can't handle that much right-"

But Goku drowned him out with a battle cry, charging towards Frieza. His body was completely encircled by his red energy, creating a bright red ball that flew towards the emperor. For once, Frieza's expression became one of great surprise as he watched the Saiyan charge him with a new burst of power.

However, as Goku approached and as everyone watched with bated breath, it all suddenly went downhill. Midway, Goku's war cry became a scream of pain. The red energy around him dispersed completely as he crumpled to the ground. He twitched, clearly in great agony as he tried to get back up. But every little movement was like a knife being plunged into his chest.

"What… happened?" Jaune croaked, watching in horror as the strongest man he knew lay helpless, "Why did he stop?"

"The Kaio-Ken," Krillin explained, his own face tense with worry, "It's a powerful strength multiplier and can easily turn the tide of battle. But it also takes a huge toll on the body, even when in perfect condition. As Goku used it, the boost was too much for his body and as a result…," Krillin didn't finish, watching as Frieza smirked at the performance.

"That certainty was a show of power," he admitted, beginning to walk towards Goku's paralyzed body, "You actually gave me a slight surprise. But it seems you were not up to the task."

He grabbed the Saiyan by the scruff of his uniform and pulled him to eye level. Goku coughed weakly as he stared into the soulless eyes of the emperor, seeing his broken body reflected in them.

Watching, still frozen in fear and anguish, Ruby Rose felt a gasping sound exit her mouth. As Frieza picked up Goku, she was suddenly and forcibly reminded of her nightmare. The nightmare where Frieza had ended Goku's life. Along with everyone else's. The only difference, which if anything made it worse, was the fact that Frieza looked different then in the dream.

"He did not even have to transform," Ruby said quietly, "To defeat us all."

Beside her Oscar nodded.

"We were never capable of this," he said, "No matter the training. No matter the effort. We just aren't able to fight this."

Neo and Bulma both nodded in agreement, the former shielding her friend, though her usual confident stare was gone, replaced by the hopeless one shared by everyone.

Except one person.

"I have done enough standing around."

Jaune stepped forward, raising his sword and glaring directly at Frieza as he held Goku. He tightened his fist tightly around the sword's grip, his face growing gradually more hate filled.

"All we have done is stand on the sidelines and watch as people get hurt and die. No more. I will fight, even if there is no chance of victory."

At first no one replied. Then, Ren and Nora stepped beside him, readying their weapons.

"We are with you the whole way," Ren said, "We trained for this."

"That bastard will not know what him," Nora growled.

They began to approach together, Krillin watching in horror as his friends walked to their death. He wanted to yell at them, force them to stop. But he also knew deep down that there was no point. They would not listen to him. Their minds were made up.

"Stop."

The small but powerful voice froze everyone. Even Lord Frieza, who had been raising his finger for the kill, looked away from Goku. He looked intently for the source of the voice and when he found it, his eyes widened.

Gohan stood behind everyone, glowering at Frieza. His body visible shivered as he glared, his usually adorable face darker than any abyss.

"Ohoho," Frieza chuckled finally, realizing just what he was looking at, "Did you say, 'stop'? My, you are a cunning little boy, aren't you?"

"Stop hurting my father," Gohan said, his voice etched with a dangerous tone that caused the Huntsmen to back away from him. Even Krillin took a few steps back, still holding Dende in his arms, his mouth slightly agape as he watched the four-year-old. Frieza, however, did not seem to have such qualms. In fact, his grin only widened at the boy's words.

"Your father?"

He glanced at Goku for a second and nodded.

"Yes, I do see the resemblance. So, the Saiyan population is trying to repopulate…," his hand tightened on Goku's throat and the Saiyan yelped, "No, this will simply not do at all. I'm sorry brat, but your father, Vegeta, and now you are destined to die. I simply cannot have the Saiyan race survive."

Gohan said nothing. Instead, he started walking towards Frieza, passing by the Huntsmen and Krillin without saying a word. They in turn were too stunned to say anything or do anything. The aura that Gohan was giving off… it was just as stifling as Frieza's.

"Let him go," Gohan warned once more, stopping a few feet away from Frieza, his dark eyes glaring directly into the tyrant's red ones.

Frieza's grin faded away. His mouth formed an ugly grimace as his annoyance began to rise.

"Insolent brat," he snarled, "I have had quite enough of listening to you demand of me things that I have no intention of doing! So just stand there like a good monkey and wait your turn!"

Frieza turned back to Goku, ready to continue what he was doing, when a fist suddenly dug itself into his face. Dropping Goku, Frieza skidded back a few feet. He raised his hand, feeling the spot where he had been hit. Then he looked up, his facial features contorting into a hideous snarl.

Gohan straightened up, his fist still clenched. On the floor next to him, Goku looked up, gaping in stunned silence. He wasn't the only one. Everyone was staring at Gohan and Frieza, wondering if they had really seen what had just happened.

"Gohan…," Piccolo muttered, trying to stagger to his feet, "I almost forgot…"

Blake, who helped me him to his feet, glanced at him quizzically.

"Forgot what?"

Piccolo frowned in Gohan's direction, a trickle of sweat going down his face.

"His… rage."

An electronic beeping sounded as Frieza pressed his scouter, training it on Gohan. The device read the boys power level, at first beeping steadily, causing Frieza's signature smile to appear through his rage.

"For a kid, you are quite strong. But, don't think that because you hit me you can defeat me. I am far beyond your-"

Suddenly, he stopped cold. The beeping from the scouter was getting faster and the tyrant's red eyes dilated as he read the information on the device.

"What! This is… not possible!"

Frieza shouted just as the scouter gave one final beep before imploding entirely. Pieces of wire and metal fell to the ground, smoking slightly. The emperor stared at the remains, his face slack with shock. Then he looked back at Gohan and the hideous look of fury came back.

"YOU VILE MONKEY BRAT! I WILL TEAR YOU TO PIECES AND ERASE YOU FROM EXISTENCE! PREPARE YOURSELF TO FACE OBLIVION!"

His roar of rage reverberated around Haven Academy, repeating itself multiple times. Normally, it would have caused the hearts of Frieza's enemies to run cold and urge them cower in fear. But Gohan did not react in such a way.

The four-year-old half-Saiyan was breathing heavily, his small face split by a clenched jaw. He trembled, though not of fear, as he exchanged looks with the irate emperor. Around him, his energy began to flare up, a bright white Ki shrouding him.

He threw his head back screamed, releasing a wave of incredible energy. Summoning Ki to his hands he began to throw energy blasts at Frieza at an incredible rate, his arms moving so fast they looked like blurs. The Ki blast raced towards Frieza and hit, showering him and the area around him with bright explosions. Gohan kept up the barrage, yelling as he did so, releasing all the pent-up anger, grief, and worry he had been experiencing for so long.

"Gohan…," Ruby said quietly, watching as her young friend fought. She had never thought the boy to get angry, but he was certainly showing rage that rivaled Vegeta's.

As she marveled, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and saw Raven approaching, carrying Vernal in her arms. Her face was streaked with tears as she came forward and when Qrow came to her, she did not resist as he helped her place Vernal down on the ground.

As Ruby watched sadly, she realized something and asked, "Where's Yang?"

Raven pointed to Vegeta, laying a few feet away from Gohan. Helping him up was Yang, Bulma, and Neo, bringing him over to the others steadily. Meanwhile, Blake and Sun did the same with Piccolo, even though the Namekian insisted he wasn't in too much pain. Weiss supported Goku as they too came. Krillin also joined, still carrying Dende and looking in concern at the three that had been hit by Frieza's Death Beam.

"We need to think of something," he said seriously as soon as everyone was accounted for, "Dende here is out of commission so we can't heal ourselves."

"Even if we could," Piccolo grunted, "We would be no match for Frieza."

"But look at Gohan," Nora exclaimed, gesturing to the boy who was still hurling balls of energy and bombarding Frieza, "He is taking him on! Alone!"

Piccolo shook his head gravely.

"It is true that his sudden rage has given him an adrenaline that is keep Frieza preoccupied. But he still isn't doing much to Frieza, if anything. That bastard is probably just stunned that he is being attacked with such ferocity. Eventually, either he will get tired of this and blast Gohan away or Gohan will tire out and then Frieza will torture him slowly before killing him. Either way, we need a plan before Frieza strikes back and fighting is not an option. All of us combined cannot defeat him right now."

They all stood in silence, listening to the yelling of Gohan. It was becoming quieter and more labored, the explosions going at a slower rate. He was already tiring. What was worse, through all the sounds, they could hear Frieza, his voice loud but mocking once more.

"YOU REALLY BELIEVE THIS WILL DEFEAT ME!? UNLEASH ALL YOUR STRENGTH! THEN I WILL MAKE SURE TO KILL YOU SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY ALONG WITH ALL YOUR PATHETIC FRIENDS AND FAMILY!"

Suddenly, Qrow snapped his fingers. He turned to Raven and asked, "Raven, can you make a portal to Tai? We can take everyone there and escape before Frieza notices."

The Branwen tribe chief said nothing for a moment. Her eyes were still fixed on Vernal and Qrow began growing impatient.

"Come on! We don't have time for this!"

Bulma groaned in annoyance. She came forward, pushing Qrow out of the way and kneeling beside Raven.

"I know you are still in shock. I know you don't want to do anything but sit by her side and mourn. But if we don't move, her death will be in vain. Plus, she left me something that she wanted to be used in the future."

Raven looked up in confusion. Bulma reached to her waist and unclipped a bright blue lamp from her belt. The Relic glowed faintly as Raven and everyone else stared at it.

"Before she ran to save you and Yang," Bulma said, "She tossed this to me and told me, 'Use this. Use it to save the world and my tribe.'"

Raven stared at the Relic for a few moments. Then she closed her eyes and stood up, wiping the tears from her eyes. Then, nice and smoothly, she drew her sword and slashed the air beside her. A thin slit appeared in the air which quickly turned into a red portal. Inside, just visible, was the Xiao Long households' kitchen, Tai standing in shock as the portal appeared next to him.

"Go through quickly," Raven said, her eyes drifting to Gohan, who was definitely beginning to tire.

Everyone nodded, helping up the wounded quickly and began making their way towards the portal. That was until a loud voice boomed behind them.

"AND WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"

Captain Ginyu stood a few feet away, his usual smug expression and pose not present. After being beaten to a pulp by Vegeta and losing his comrade, it seemed he was done fooling around.

The group backed away, realizing quickly that they had no one that could really fight this guy. Everyone was either too tired or too injured to do so.

Ginyu advanced, his arm rising slowly and purple energy appearing in his palm. As he did this, he snarled, "Look what you scum have done to me! You have ruined me and made a mockery of me before Lord Frieza! And now you defy him?! Enough of this! I, Captain Ginyu, will not take this anymore!"

He charged up his Milky Cannon, laughing maniacally as the group were frozen in place. Only a few would be able to get through the portal before Ginyu fired and murdered the rest and after everything, leaving someone behind was not an option. Especially after everything that has happened. And one person was especially ready to fight till the last breath.

"DESTRUCTO DISK!"

Krillin darted to the side, holding up his arm. A buzz saw of yellow energy formed above his hand and he hurled it at Ginyu. The Captain, too fixated on killing the group was slow to realize the attack until it was too late. He screamed in terror as the disc of energy flew straight for his outstretched arm and ran clean through it at the elbow. The Milky Cannon dissipated as the arm split, half of it falling to the ground. Ginyu crumpled to his knees, holding the stump with his other arm. He could not feel the pain from it, but it was still enough to put him in mental shock.

Krillin stood nearby, panting heavily as he saw the evil general panic. He turned to look at his friends and saw they were all staring at him, completely dumbstruck.

"What are you staring at!" he cried, "Go! Go! GO!"

They snapped out of it. Raven gestured for the people with injured cargo to go through first. Weiss and Krillin took Goku through quickly followed by Yang and Bulma with Vegeta. After they went through, Oscar came forward, carrying Vernal gently in his arms. Raven gave him a grateful look as he passed through.

"Let's get moving guys," Jaune said to Ren, Nora and Ruby.

They nodded and began walking when Ruby saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned and saw one of the large drop ships that the Frieza Force has used flying away swiftly. Despite already being a decent way away, Ruby could just make out a figure standing on the deck. A figure with bright red robes and dark black hair.

"Ruby, what are you-" Jaune joined her, following her gaze. He paused when he saw the ship and its occupants and grimaced.

"Those bastards," he muttered.

Ruby turned, looking away from Cinder Fall and began tugging Jaune along.

"Let's go," she said simply.

As they approached the portal, Ren and Nora already leaving with Dende's unconscious body, they saw Piccolo, Blake and Sun still outside, watching as Gohan tired out.

"GOHAN!" Piccolo yelled at the top of his lungs, "WE NEED TO GO!"

However, the small boy did not respond, determinedly blasting away. Piccolo opened his mouth to yell once more when a sudden shock wave sent them all back. Raven stumbled, almost losing control of the portal.

"Hurry!" she urged.

Gohan was on his knees, knocked down by the shock wave. As he tried to clamber back up, Frieza's voice spoke from the massive cloud caused by Gohan's attacks.

"It seems I have finally stopped your pitiful attack," he mocked, "All it took was a slight flex of my power. And now."

From the dark cloud, he emerged, his face one of heartless cruelty. His smile was a nasty leer while his icy red eyes revealed his boiling rage. He looked down at Gohan, raising his finger and pointing it straight at him, not wasting anymore time.

But that was when he noticed the portal and the remaining Huntsmen standing next to it, ready to escape. His attack faltered as his eyes searched, suddenly realizing that Goku and Vegeta were gone. Gone through the…

"You…," his voice shook, a murderous undertone taking over, "MAGGOTS!"

He raised his arm away from Gohan and instead trained it on the Huntsmen. Ruby and Jaune, who were closest to the portal, froze in terror, only for Raven to shove them in herself. Meanwhile, the injured Piccolo stood in front of Blake and Sun, yelling for them to run as he faced Frieza.

At Frieza's feet, Gohan stirred. He heard his friends panicked screams, Piccolo's yelling and the rage filled snarling of Frieza as began firing beams of energy. Gohan heard Piccolo grunt in pain as he was hit and a thud as he fell to the ground.

He got to his feet and put his hands together over his head. He called upon all his remaining strength and felt energy converging at his hands.

Frieza felt a warmth just below him. He glanced down just in time to see the half-Saiyan on his feet, preparing a Ki attack. He didn't even have time to yell before Gohan drowned him out, thrusting his arms forward and screaming at the top of his lungs.

"MASENKO BEAM!"

A massive beam of yellow energy blasted from his hands, engulfing Frieza entirely in a bright light. It cracked the ground beneath their feet and even shook the ground slightly.

As he fired, Gohan took a second to glance behind him to see what was happening. He saw Blake and Sun dragging the nearly dead Piccolo to the portal, staring at him with wide eyes. Raven too was staring at him, her expression seemingly asking, "Are you coming?!"

Suddenly, Gohan's Masenko Beam petered out. Frieza stood where he had been before, completely unharmed by the attack. But his anger was now beyond anything the tyrant had ever felt before. He let out a guttural cry of rage and Gohan took his chance, darting back towards the others. Blake and Sun disappeared in along with Piccolo, leaving only Raven and Gohan.

"GET IN AND CLOSE THE PORTAL!" he yelled to Raven.

She nodded and leaped in. As the portal shrank, Gohan sped up, feeling the pressure behind him as Frieza gave chase, gaining quickly. It seemed impossible that he would make it. But just as the portal shrank even more, he reached and dived in and felt the portal close entirely behind him.

* * *

He lay on a wooden floor, gasping for breath and wondering if he truly was alive. It took him a minute to realize what he had done. He had stood up against Lord Frieza and fought him. Of course, he had done nothing in terms of damage. But he had fought him and survived.

Gohan felt himself smile despite everything. It was good to feel accomplished.

He then realized that he did not know where he was. He was lying on the wooden floor of pristine kitchen. Granted, he could barely tell it was a kitchen because of the crowd of people milling about. He saw the Huntsmen tending to the wounded fighters, Dende waking up and desperately using his powers to heal the serious wounds.

Gohan felt relief rush through him as he saw his dad, Vegeta, and Piccolo get healed up, groggily sitting up and accepting glasses of water. Even Vegeta for once did not say anything scathing. He just sat still, staring blankly in front of him.

Gohan felt a shadow above him. He looked up to see Ruby smiling down at him. She offered him a hand and he took it gratefully, getting to his feet. The moment he stood though, he felt his legs turn to jelly and felt himself collapse once more. He was caught by Ruby before he could hit the ground and he felt himself being carried to a place and laid down on a comfy surface.

The last thing he saw and heard before he drifted into unconsciousness was Ruby's tear stained face and her saying quietly.

"Don't worry, Gohan. We are safe."

* * *

Lord Frieza looked at the spot where the portal had been moments before. He had not moved since he had seen the tiny raging brat escape through it and his body was still numb from a stream of emotions. One did dominate over them all though.

Pure. Unadulterated. Anger.

He had finally found them. He had found the miserable brats. All of them. They had been at his mercy. But they had escaped. Again. Just because he wanted to enjoy himself for a little bit.

Frieza looked at his hand and saw it shaking. He clenched it tightly, drawing purple blood from his palm. Those maggots… scum… filth… Saiyan monkeys…

He heard heavy footsteps and turned to see Ginyu limping towards him, clutching his stump tightly. The Captain stopped immediately when he saw the expression on his master's face and collapsed to the ground before him.

"Forgive me, my lord!" he groveled, "It is my fault they were able to escape! I will accept any punishment!"

Frieza regarded this for a moment. Then he slowly began to ascend into the air. As he did so he said quietly, his voice a low murderous hum.

"If you value your life, Ginyu, I would suggest you fly back to the base now."

Captain Ginyu did not waste any time. He scrambled to his feet and, despite his many injuries, he mustered all his strength and flew as fast as he could, leaving Frieza floating over Haven Academy.

"This land," Frieza muttered, "Will be a constant reminder of this day."

He lifted up his index finger. A small ball of orange energy hovered over it. The small light lit up Frieza's face in the dark, shining off his blood red eyes and his livid stare.

"Unless I get rid of it," he finished quietly, "All of it."

The ball off energy suddenly grew to about four times its size. Silently, Frieza flicked his finger down toward the ground and the Death Ball followed his command. It smashed into the campus of Haven Academy and the ground around it exploded, cracks spreading like wildfire as the energy kept going down. The destruction consumed the land, bringing down the entire academy within seconds and continuing to the city of Mistral. The ancient city glowed for one last time in the light of the energy ball before being annihilated. Even then, the destruction did not end. It persisted to the surrounding mountain range, leveling mountains of incredible size. Past them, it hit the large forests of Mistral, expanding across them and leaving nothing behind. Including lives. It finally stopped at another range of snow mountains, swallowing them up before coming to a halt, sparing one trading port by the sea. But besides that small piece of land, the entire continent of Anima had been wiped off the face of the world within a matter of seconds.

Frieza floated over the barren remains of the once proud kingdom Mistral. Right below him, where the attack had initially landed, a pool of lava and magma was spewing out due to how deep the crater was. In fact, as he watched, waves of water began pouring into the massive valley as the oceans that had been around Anime began leaking into the massive crater.

Frieza's expression had not changed during the process. He had not smiled, laughed or said anything. His face was cold and business like as he examined his handy work.

Finally, his lips curled into the smile that haunted his victims beyond the grave.

"They may have escaped today, but they will not be able to avoid me forever. I will find them soon enough and when I do, I will make sure each one gets the proper death they deserve. No force in the universe will save them from my wrath."

Laughing crazily, he channeled his Ki and rocketed back towards his base, passing over the desolation that was being swept under by a tidal wave of water.

 **The continent of Anima has met a cruel fate as the heroes evade Lord Frieza's claws once more. With the recovery of the Relic of Knowledge and the survival of most of the crew, the mission could be considered a success. But their future is still uncertain and treacherous as they realize just how powerless they were against the galactic tyrant. What are their next steps after these events? Find out next time on Dragon Ball R!**

 **Authors Note: Hey guys! I really hoped you enjoyed this one! This was the first major milestone of the story and I can't believe we got to it so quickly! I just want to thank everyone for the continued support and motivating me to continue the story! You guys are the best! Till next time (which will not be as long of a wait).**


	11. Chapter 11

**Authors Note: Hello everyone! Welcome back to another chapter of Dragon Ball R! I would like to apologize for taking so long to post the next chapter, especially after promising it would be back to a weekly schedule. I will not make that promise again since I don't want to raise false hope. But I do hope it will not be this bad of a wait.**

 **Before we do begin, I just want to address a few reviews concerning power levels. In the cannon, Goku and Vegeta should already be able to capably handle 1** **st** **form Frieza. The former could even take him on in his final form at 50 percent power. But, for this story, the power levels have been shifted slightly and while from now on it shouldn't be too much of a problem, I did just want to point it out to everyone. Thank you for voicing your concerns on the matter. Anyway, with that being said, lets jump right in!**

 **Last time on Dragon Ball R, a battle was waged on the grounds of Haven Academy and the city of Mistral. Our heroes fought hard against the servants of Salem in attempts to get the Relic from their clutches. However, their fight was crashed by the likes of Lord Frieza himself! Taking control, he proceeded to kill Ilia, Adam and Vernal, causing the heroes to fight back in a rage. However, even the likes of a super powered Gohan did not seem to affect him. But enough time was bought for both the Huntsmen and the servants of Salem to escape further harm, leaving Frieza to take out his rage on the continent of Anima. With the horror of his power now witnessed in person, can the heroes recover from their shock? Or will they succumb to the hopelessness? Today: The Watchers from Above, The Relic Speaks.**

* * *

Adam Taurus sat bolt upright. He heaved loudly, the terror still coursing through his blood stream. Even as he sat, he could still feel the tinge in his stomach where he had felt the sensation before the darkness had overcome him.

He closed his eyes tightly, picturing the last face he had seen. The cruel smile and blood red eyes were burned into his memory, boring into his soul. At one point, that face had been something Adam could trust, even follow devoutly. But now, it was the sign of his greatest nightmare.

He opened his eyes once more, wanting to avoid seeing Frieza's leer. Instead, he looked around curiously, wondering where he was. In fact, he began to wonder why he was anywhere in the first place. He was pretty sure he had died, slaughtered by his own master.

But he was sitting on a small hill, looking down at the strangest sight he had ever seen. He was staring at what looked like a city of houses that stretched beyond the horizon. What was more, the entire place was shimmering white. The buildings, sky, ground, even the air was a misty white fog. The only things that weren't white were the thousands of people milling about, chatting laughing and going about their business. They looked normal, colored in their natural colors which contrasted greatly with the white surroundings. However, as Adam peered at them closer, they too seemed to shimmer slightly.

He looked down at himself to see that he was still wearing his dark robes. His Grimm mask was gone, though at the moment he did not much care about it. The only difference was that when he moved, his body seemed to leave a glowing trail. And the fact that his trusty katana was missing.

Adam scrambled around for a second, looking desperately for his weapon. The last thing he wanted to be in an unknown place was defenseless. But the white ground around him was completely deserted of anything, let alone a katana.

He slumped back to the ground and hung his head, staring fixedly on the ground. His mind raced, trying to process everything that was happening. He was in a mysterious land after being killed by Frieza. He was sure of that last part. He had felt the immense pain for a second, boiling up from within him and exploding outward. He knew that he could not have survived it. But if he had died, where was he?

"Well look who we have here."

Adam started in surprise, looking up at the voice. His eyes widened in absolute shock as he stared up at a massive faunus. His grizzly mane of hair and beard were unmistakable. Ghira Belladonna glared right back at him, his eyes flashing darkly at him.

"H-how…?" was all Adam could muster through his shock, his mouth fumbling over his words.

Next to Ghira, another figure showed up and Adam's brain felt like it would combust just like his body had. There stood Kali Belladonna, Ghira's wife and the mother of Blake. Her cheery smile faded as she looked down at Adam, glancing nervously at her husband.

For a few moments, no one spoke. They just stared at each other, digesting the situation. Then Ghira finally spoke, his voice gruff with the slightest hint of a growl.

"You know, I did expect you to die soon after you chose to follow that psychopathic tyrant, but I am surprised to see you here."

That snapped Adam out of his trance. He stumbled to his feet, surprised to find himself lighter than usual. Once he gained his balance, he straightened and glared at Ghira, trying to put on his bravest face.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" he asked, hoping that he sounded strong and demanding instead of weak and very scared.

Ghira sniggered, seeing right through Adam's façade. But he said nothing of it and instead gestured to the place behind him.

"You're looking at the Afterlife you brat. Where souls go to when they die."

Adam suddenly felt his legs feel weak and he almost collapsed back to the ground. The only reason he did not was because he realized that the answer he had been given, though insane in its own right, was also probably the most logical one. It made sense. He had been killed by Frieza and his soul was now in this place. The Afterlife.

He looked up at Ghira, who was still sneering at him, enjoying his squirming. This made Adams insides boil. He regained himself and asked, "Then why are you surprised to see me here, Ghira?"

"Because," Ghira responded simply, "Usually souls that have committed unspeakable crimes have a different fate. They are sent straight to the prison of the Afterlife. A building in the middle of this place that is inescapable and that none may enter. You should be rotting in a cell there, but for some reason you aren't."

Adam wanted to say something scathing in response, but his words caught in his throat as his mind began to process what had been said. He had been unnerved by what Ghira had described about the prison of the Afterlife. It did sound like the perfect place for him, as much as he hated to admit it. So why was he here?

It was then that Kali acted. She stepped up and peered closely into Adam. As her eyes scanned him, Adam suddenly had a memory of storming the Belladonna residence. He had killed Ghira and his troops had murdered Kali. At first, Adam had been positively jubilant about doing what he had done. But now… his chest began to tighten at the thought and his mind replayed a different scene. It starred the sadistic face of Frieza as he closed his fist and suddenly feeling his own insides expand. And his last thought had been of…

"Redemption," Kali said suddenly.

Ghira looked at his wife, wondering if he had heard her correctly.

"Excuse me?"

Kali turned to him; her face deadly serious.

"He is seeking redemption. For everything he has done."

Both Ghira and Adam stared at her, silently gaping at her. Then Ghira asked, "How can you tell?"

Kali glanced back at Adam and smiled slightly.

"It's written all over his face. He can try to act all tough and heartless, but I can see it. His eyes also betray him. They are not the same eyes we saw that night. Something changed in him. Maybe it was right before he died that he realized something and wished to redeem himself in another life. I don't know exactly, but I am sure that he is seeking redemption and that is why he isn't in the prison."

There was a short silence. Ghira looked between Kali and Adam, disbelief still on his face. He tried to say something a few times, opening his mouth before closing it again.

As for Adam, he suddenly felt himself lose control of his body. He slumped back down to the ground, Kali's words reverberating in his ears. He wanted to deny it, say that he was here because he had no place in a prison. But he knew that it was true. In that last split-second of life, as he stared desperately into the eyes of Frieza, he had regretted everything he had done. He had felt the pain that he had inflicted on others and he suddenly did not wish such pain on anyone else.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Kali smiling kindly at him. He could not understand how she looked at with such sympathy, especially since he was the reason for her being in this place.

"If you do seek redemption," she said gently, "Then there is hope for you after all, Adam. I will help you find your peace. First," she tapped her finger on his head and Adam felt a sudden warmth flow through him.

"I forgive you," she said quietly.

Ghira watched, speechless as his wife stepped away from the man that had killed them, smiling as if he was an old friend. Adam was just as stunned, looking up at her in pure disbelief.

"But… why?" he asked.

"Yeah, why!?" Ghira asked, his voice raised.

Kali frowned at Ghira, making the big faunus recoil slightly.

"Because if someone truly feels guilty for his actions then they should have a second chance. Besides, I believe Adam here always had these feelings, even when he attacked us. That Frieza forced him to do those atrocious acts, threatening him at every opportunity. Even the bravest of faunus would have done what Adam had."

Ghira crossed his arms, seeming unconvinced with her argument. Kali did not wait for his response and instead turned back to Adam; her brows still furrowed.

"However," she warned, "Many of the people that you must ask for forgiveness will not be so willing to give it to you. You will have to work hard for this redemption. Otherwise, you will not deserve this chance and will be sent to the prison."

Adam stood up, suddenly very alert. He bowed low, directing it at the two faunus.

"Thank you so much, Kali," he said, his voice genuine, "I will redeem myself in any way I can. I have done my people wrong and I will not rest until I can do something to help those faunus rest in peace."

Kali smiled nodding at him. Ghira, however, just grunted and turned away.

"Well, your certainty not getting forgiveness from me anytime soon. Not after what you did to me, my wife and my daughter. But I guess we will just see how well you do here. In fact," he suddenly turned back around and gave Adam a wicked grin, "I actually know a person you can start with."

Kali began to say something, her eyes narrowing. But Adam, now determined to complete his goal nodded. He wasn't all smiles or anything now, but the darkness and cruelty that he had exhibited for so long had melted away.

Ghira began leading him away from the hill, Kali following behind with a troubled expression on her face. However, she said nothing, seeing Adams newfound determination.

The trio walked through white streets, congested with happy souls. Some of them waved at Ghira in a friendly manner. As Adam looked all around, taking it all in, he saw something that made his heart skip a beat.

A human and a faunus chatting cheerily. A human and a faunus laughing together while having a drink of coffee. A human and faunus holding hands, leading a child to a toy store. It was all so alien to the bull faunus. Seeing this prosperity between human and faunus… was something he never imagined would happen.

"This place," he said quietly, "Is equal."

Ghira snorted a little.

"I was wondering if you would notice that. Yes, in this world, bias does not exist. There is no point to it when everyone is dead. All races can live together here in harmony, especially without radical terrorist groups."

Adam flinched slightly. Ghira lead them along, Adam taking every opportunity to stare at happy faunus hanging out with humans.

They passed a group of faunus chatting and as Adam glanced at them, their gazes met his. They suddenly shrunk back, their eyes turning cold and faces glowering in his direction. A wave of anger flowed out of them, hitting Adam hard.

He gulped, looking away quickly and following Ghira through the crowd, trying not to look back. He should have known this was going to happen. Those faunus must have been just a few of the thousands he helped to kill. They knew his face all too well. And now, if Adam wanted to redeem himself, he would have to earn their forgiveness. A task that did not guarantee success.

"Here we are," Ghira said, snapping Adam out of his thoughts.

He looked up to see Ghira gesturing to a two-story white house, shimmering slightly. The door was already open a crack and Adam could see a glimmer of blue light from inside.

Behind him, Kali sighed in annoyance.

"Really, Ghira? You want him to see her?"

Ghira chuckled a little, trying to hide the devious look he had been carrying for the past few minutes.

"Well, it's someone he needs forgiveness from."

Kali put her hands on her hips, glaring at her husband who cowered away slightly.

"You know exactly what you're doing! Honestly, this is childish."

Ghira was about to retort, his annoyance beginning to flare up, but Adam stepped forward and opened the door. Before either Belladonna could say anything more, he stepped inside the house.

It was quite a cozy place. Despite everything being a misty white, all the objects were recognizable and seemed to be operational, even though Adam did not know how electricity worked in this type of place. White stairs led upstairs to another floor, looking slightly precarious as the cloud like material almost seemed like it would dissipate under foot even though it was perfectly solid as the ground Adam was standing on.

However, all of that was secondary to what was in the center of the room. Three girls stood around a large blue orb that was emitting the glow that Adam had seen from outside. At first, he thought that it was some sort of large jewel that the girls were obsessing over. However, on closer inspection, Adam realized that it was no jewel at all. In fact, when he saw what it was, he let out an audible gasp, causing the girls to turn around and look at him.

Two of them he did not recognize. One was a tan girl wearing a brown jacket, shorts and boots. It was an outfit that many bandits wore. Her face was smug looking, even as she stared in shock at Adam.

The other girl was dressed in a strange sort of armor that reminded Adam of spartans from old tales. The armor was gold and red, complete with chest plate, kneepads and steel tipped boots. Her long red hair flowed down one side, nearly reaching her waist. Her face was kindly and almost regal looking, though right now it was frowning slightly at him.

The final girl however, Adam recognized all too well. Suddenly, he realized why Kali was so hesitant to bring him here. The chameleon faunus, clad in her usual black suit and ponytail, glowered at him in a fit of rage.

"You… you…," spluttered Ilia, advancing slowly.

She had no weapon on her, but the look she gave Adam was enough to make him back away quickly. Beside Ilia, the bandit smirked slightly and though Adam didn't recognize her, she glared at him with familiarity.

"Wow, Ilia," Vernal said, "Just your luck isn't it? The faunus that you hate the most is standing in this very room in the Afterlife. And you were so sure he would be going to the prison."

Ilia snarled in Vernals direction.

"As anyone should! This monster massacred his people!"

Behind Adam, Ghira and Kali walked in, the former looking quite pleased with himself while the latter just sighed in annoyance.

"You see, Adam," Ghira said, "Your wish for redemption is going to be far harder than you ever dreamed."

Ilia perked up at the mention of redemption. She glanced at Ghira, narrowing her eyes.

"Redemption? You're telling me that this scumbag actually wished for redemption and that's why he is frolicking outside the prison?"

"I know," Ghira said, his grin turning into a scowl, "I'm just a surprised as you. And angry."  
Adam, who had lost his voice for a few moments, finally found himself. He straightened up and faced Ilia directly before bowing deeply.

"I know you will not forgive me instantly. Maybe not even for a very long time. But I promise I will do everything I can to make up for the crimes I did back on Remnant. What I did," he paused, and Ilia's scowl softened slightly as she noticed the tone he used.

"Was beyond horrible. I have no excuse. I was a cowered and I should have stood up against Frieza for the sake of my people."

There was a slight silence as his words sank in. Even Vernal and the girl were respectively quiet, watching Ilia as she processed what he said. After a few moments, Ilia just turned away with an indignant grunt.

"You will have to do more than use pretty words to earn my forgiveness, Adam Taurus."

Adam nodded, smiling slightly. A pure, kind smile. Than he eyes once more fell upon the blue orb behind the girls and he blurted out, "Is that… Remnant?"

Reflecting off the surface of the orb, a large expanse of water could be seen, shining in the rising sun. The dark blue ocean and light sky was such a contrast to the place around him, Adam had just assumed that he was looking at an image of a place in Remnant. He knew it sounded crazy, and half expected the girls to call him a moron.

However, to his absolute surprise, the spartan girl nodded, turning back to the orb.

"Yes, this is Remnant."

Her voice was calm and gentle, but far from weak. Adam could hear the strength in her tone and the way she presented herself, straight backed and firm. As a warrior, he could see that she too had seen her share of a battles before dying.

The girl continued, "Many families in the Afterlife own this orb. It allows them to watch their living relatives and loved ones and see their triumphs and failures."

Adam nodded dumbly, staring blankly at the orb. Then, as he looked, something strange struck him and he asked, "Then why is it showing the ocean?"

There was a cold silence. Vernal and Ilia looked at the girl nervously, waiting to see if she would say anything. However, the spartan only stiffened, staring fixedly at the orb. Eventually, Vernal sighed and said, "She was watching her cousins in Mistral. They were getting ready to go to Haven Academy when the school season started up once more. But…," Vernal paused and once again shot a sad glance in the girl's direction.

However, she did not need to finish. Adam took in a sharp intake of breath as he began connecting the dots. An Ocean. Mistral. Frieza…

Behind him, Ghira and Kali seemed to have come to the same conclusion. The large faunus pushed passed Adam and stared at the orb. Then he turned to the spartan girl, his hard eyes suddenly watery.

"How… long ago?"

"A few hours ago," she replied, "Just after I found Ilia and Vernal and invited them to stay. I had seen them in the orb. Adam as well. I'm guessing he took longer to appear as his soul was being judged for redemption. Anyway, once I returned here with Ilia and Vernal, we saw him rise into the air and…"

The girl shut her eyes and looked about to vomit. Ilia supported her; her face slightly blue as her sadness was expressed by her chameleon trait.

Kali gasped, tears streaking down her cheeks. Vernal looked down, the proud bandit trying to hide her own tears. Ghira sank to his knees, croaking inaudibly through his despair. Even Adam Taurus hung his head. He may still have a long time to go till he redeemed himself, but he felt the grief and misery falling upon the group.

"My baby girl," Ghira whispered, looking up at the spartan, "Was she caught in the explosion?"

The girl shook her head.

"I can't say for sure. By the time I came back with Ilia and Vernal, Frieza was on his own and readying his attack. There was no sign of Blake or any of the others."

Kali choked out a sob and rushed toward Ghira. He embraced her and they huddled together, shaking from their sorrow. It was a truly saddening sight, and no one dared to say anything, leaving the parents to mourn. Even Ilia, who looked about to scream, held herself together as she thought about Blake, Sun and Piccolo and everything they had been through.

Then, out of the blue, a voice spoke.

"I don't think they are dead."

Everyone turned to look at Adam. His scarred face was confident as he returned their gazes, displaying an emotion that he had never thought he would exhibit. Hope. Hope for the lives of the people he had despised for so long.

Unfortunately, his attempt to raise the mood was not very successful. Ilia snarled at him angrily and Ghira got to his feet, pawing the ground as if about to charge at him.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU MURDERING BASTARD!"

The words stung hard and Adam recoiled slightly. However, he recovered quickly, knowing that if he did not get used to hearing that, he would never be able to survive out in this world. Besides, he knew it to be true.

He gestured around him, keeping his face calm as he explained, "If they had died, they would have probably been here by now, especially if this had happened hours ago. Remember, those two, "he gestured to Ilia and Vernal, "Were transported here only a few minutes after their deaths. The only reason I took so long was because I'm a special case. But unlike me, Blake and her friends were far from evil and would have not had that delay."

Ghira was red in the face as Adam talked, using all his self-control not to launch himself at the bull faunus. Seeing this, Adam quickly continued.

"Also, I don't think they aren't dead simply because I don't believe it. I may have hated those kids with a fiery passion, and even now I'm not too sure about my feelings on them. But what I do know for a fact is that they are strong. Stronger than I could have ever become. Not to mention who they were with," he added, recalling the likes of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan, "They would never have let them die."

Another heavy silence settled upon the group as they processed his words. No one looked too hopeful. It just seemed hard to believe they could get away from an attack such as this. Even Adam, who had delivered his speech with confidence, had plenty of misgivings. He knew all too well Frieza's power and the unlikelihood of anyone escaping his tyrannical grasp.

Suddenly, Vernal jolted up from her sulking. She stared at the girl and it was obvious something was racing through her mind.

"Wait a second. You said this orb is used to watch living relatives and loved ones, right?"

The girl blinked before nodding dumbly.

"Then how were you watching us?" Vernal asked, "You told us you were watching your cousins before you went to find us. Your tale is full of holes."

Ilia now stared at the girl as well, nodding along with Vernals statements. The spartan just sighed deeply before actually smiling slightly.

"Sorry, I wanted to make sure you guys were trust worthy before I revealed who I was. I know you guys have been at my place for a few hours and I haven't even had the common courtesy to introduce myself. I was going to once we arrived but then Frieza distracted me completely."

She sighed once more and stoop up straight, facing Vernal, Ilia and even Adam.

"My name is Pyrrha Nikos," she said, her voice strong and defiant, "I was a student at Beacon Academy until I lost my life during an attack," she glanced at Adam for a second and added, "You do not need to seek my forgiveness. I do not blame you for that attack. That burden I rest with the likes of Cinder Fall and her mistress Salem."

Adam nodded appreciatively, though his mind was racing. If this was a student at Beacon who had died during the attack, she has been here far longer than anyone else in this room. Even Ghira and Kali have only been in the Afterlife for about a week. Before he could think any more on that, however, Pyrrha continued.

"I was part of a team of Huntsmen that went on an adventure after my death. During this adventure, they met with strangers from another world who helped them get stronger and informed them about Frieza. Eventually, my team met up with all our school friends and together trained under these powerful mentors before proceeding to make their way to Haven Academy in an attempt to stop Cinder Fall."

She paused, looking at the three newly dead people, all of whom were staring at her. In the corner, Ghira and Kali were quiet, their faces still stricken from the prospect that their daughter may be dead. However, they did not look surprised about anything Pyrrha was saying.

"You may be wondering how I know all of his," Pyrrha said, "And the answer is simple."

She gestured to the orb.

"I said this orb is used to follow living relatives and loved ones. While I have family that I watch on occasion, the main person I watch is…," here she suddenly reddened.

Vernal rolled her eyes impatiently.

"Come on!" she yelled, "Just tell us! We won't care about who your little crush is on!"

Pyrrha nodded.

"Yes, you're right. I was following the man known as Jaune Arc, my former team leader, friend, and my first love. Unfortunately, I was only ever able to confess right before my death, a regret I will hold for eternity."

"I see," Ilia nodded, "So you followed this boy with this orb and that is how you know about everything and how you saw us at Haven?"

"Yes," Pyrrha said, "Once again, I apologize for not saying so sooner. I wanted to make sure I could trust you since I have never met either of you in the real world and only saw you once during the battle. Don't blame Ghira or Kali either," she added gesturing to them, "I told them to stay quiet about it all for now."

Ilia and Vernal nodded in understanding. Ghira got up from his crouched position and headed towards Pyrrha and suddenly looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Please, if you can find Jaune… maybe you can find Blake."

Pyrrha nodded.

"Of course. I should have done it far sooner. But… my emotions were in too much disarray."

Pyrrha turned back to the orb and placed her hands over it. She closed her eyes and concentrated, searching for the one she loved.

The vision in the orb flickered. All of a sudden, the group were staring at an entirely different scene. The inside of a wooden house crowded with people.

Sighs of relief were let out as they saw familiar faces. Pyrrha smiled warmly at the sight of Jaune, Ren, and Nora resting on a couch, blushing a little. Vernal actually wept when she saw Chief Raven sitting in a chair, though she was worried about how gaunt and shallow she looked. Then there was Ilia, Ghira, and Kali searching for Blake. They didn't have to look long before spotting her beside Sun.

"Oh…," was all Kali said before she collapsed to the floor and sobbed once more, the relief too much for her to handle. Ghira kneeled next to her, hugging her tightly and lifting her up easily in his arms. He turned to look at Pyrrha, smiling through his own tears.

"Thanks, Pyrrha," he said, "You did give us quite the scare you know. Anyway, we will be on our way. Are you sure you can house those two rascals?"

He nodded towards Vernal and Ilia, who frowned at him. Pyrrha smiled brightly and nodded, though she had to tear her eyes away from Jaune to do so. Then, Ghira turned to Adam, scowling slightly.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you can stay at our place for a while until your own appears. It probably will once you are on your way to redemption."

Adam, however, raised his hand, declining the offer.

"I do thank you for the offer," he said, "But I feel I must do this on my own. Besides, I would not want to disturb you with my presence."

Ghira stared at him, his scowl momentarily melting off.

"What happened to you, Adam?"

Adam actually smiled slightly, the brand on his face for once not making his face look disfigured.

"Mr. Belladonna, I am just a faunus that wishes to pay for his crimes and see the tyrannical bastard brought down. No other person, human or faunus, should go through him. He is a scourge upon Remnant."

Ghira stared at him for a moment longer. Than he just turned and walked out the door, carrying his now sleeping wife. Adam followed shortly, after thanking Pyrrha for her hospitality. Once he left, Vernal and Ilia yawned loudly, looking startled when they did so.

"Wait a second," Vernal said, "You can get tired in the Afterlife?"

Pyrrha giggled a little.

"Oh, yes. It isn't too bad though. Beds here are quite comfy. There should be two extra rooms upstairs so please choose calmly and respectively."

They nodded, heading upstairs, wondering about what they had seen.

Pyrrha stayed below for a few more minutes, staring intently at the image in the orb. She watched as Jaune Arc sat stiffly in his couch. It was now she saw the expression on his face, as well as on everyone's faces. A mixture of fear and hopelessness.

She could not blame them. After everything they had been through, their spirits must be shattered. Even successfully retrieving the Relic, which was resting on a coffee table, seemed completely pointless now.

But Pyrrha also knew that hope wasn't lost. As she looked at her friends, she felt a flicker of warmth in her heart. Through all that sadness and despair, there was a determination that could not be broken by anyone. Not even Frieza.

* * *

The airship slowly docked next to a black cliff. The passengers jumped off and began walking up a dark path towards the towering palace, made from the same dark material as the cliff. As the group ascended, they said nothing and walked with a stiffness that tripped them up at points.

There were many things to discuss. Such as the fact that they had failed in their mission. Or the fact that they were stopped mainly by the Huntsmen they had so underestimated. Or, of course, the fact that they could do nothing but flee from the fury of Frieza once he arrived. And that excludes the fact that a continent had just been wiped off the face of Remnant.

However, none of these topics came up as the group trudged miserably towards the large black doors. Standing before the doors, a tall figure stood, watching them approach. His mustache was visibly bristling, and his usual well-kept suit was creased with wrinkles where he had obviously been clutching tightly.

"So, you have finally returned," Arthur Watts said. He tried to put on a patronizing tone, but it came out far to squeaky and cracked.

Neither Cinder, Mercury, Emerald, or Tyrion responded. They simply walked passed him, not looking at him. Watts followed them through the doors frantically, trying to get their attention.

"Listen here," he began, "What is the meaning of all of this? We felt a shaking beyond the likes of anything and suddenly our mistress is panicking!"

Cinder finally glanced at him, her red eyes smoldering, lacking the energy to even look angry.

"As she should be, Watts. As should all of us. Now, where is Salem?"

Watts gulped, processing what Cinder said. For a man that was usually so composed, his hands were now fidgety, and his pupils dilated. He tried to say something, but it only came out as incoherent babbling. He stopped, swallowing before trying again.

"She is up in the conference room, awaiting your arrival. And..," he hesitated for a second, unsure if he should go on.

"And what?" hissed Tyrion.

"She is a little unstable at the moment," Watts ventured, "Ever since the shaking ended, she has been muttering to herself, occasionally expelling a blast of dark magic. That's why I stepped outside to wait for you."

As if on cue, the palace shook slightly around them and they could hear a scream of outrage above them. Usually, this display of rage from the immortal sorceress Salem would have all of her servants shaking in fear. However, they just sighed and continued to the conference room. After what they just experienced, Salem's anger almost seemed pitiful.

They reached the conference room, not saying anything else. Watts stepped forward and knocked on the double doors tentatively.

"My lady? They have returned."

There was a pause as they waited with bated breath. Then a voice from inside said, "Come in."

The group entered the room slowly. Salem sat in her chair at the far end of the table, her head hung low and buried in her hands. She said nothing as they filed in and the state that she was in was so uncharacteristic and jarring that the group actually took the chance to gape in astonishment. It was just so unreal to see the immortal sorceress of darkness in such a pathetic state.

"My lady?" Cinder finally said, her voice trying to be gentle.

Salem glanced up at them, looking as if she had just acknowledged their very existence. She said nothing in response. Instead, she waved her hand at the seats around the table, gesturing for them to sit down. Everyone did so without any hesitation.

"It seems," Salem spoke, her voice firmer than she looked, "That you have come back empty handed."

Cinder, Tyrion, Mercury, and Emerald all cringed in their seats, the guilt of their failure rushing back into them. They began to scramble with words, looking for something to explain themselves. But Salem held up her hand for silence.

"Save your apologies. There are different things to discuss. I will only say that I expect you to do better next time when I send you on an important mission. Is that understood?"

They nodded vigorously. Salem sighed and stood up, heading to a nearby window overlooking the dark landscape around them. Her solemn face reflected in the glass, showing her the weakness she was exhibiting. However, for once, she did not care.

"I would like to hear your report," she said, "I want to know everything that happened."

Her servants exchanged nervous looks. Even though they had just been forgiven, it seemed like a bad idea to tell her all their mistakes. But it was not like they had much choice in the matter. Cinder recalled the battle at Haven Academy, leaving nothing out. She discussed how the Huntsmen had been trained under the powerful fighters from another world. She explained how Raven had been the Spring Maiden, tricking them into thinking it was someone else. A few of her comrades flinched when she described the invasion of Ginyu and Adam, their army in toe. And then… the arrival of Lord Frieza.

Salem tensed up visibly as Cinder recalled the events after Frieza's arrival. As she talked, Salem felt hollow inside, her thoughts in turmoil as she listened to the ferocity of the emperor.

"And then," Cinder croaked, coming to the end of her story, "As we were escaping on the airship, we saw Frieza rise into the air. The next thing we knew, Mistral was engulfed in this energy. It spread across the continent within seconds, almost catching us as we flew higher. And then-,"

"That's enough."

Salem turned to look at her servants, her face stricken. She scanned them one by one, seeing the same thing in each. The absolute fear of death. They all knew the gravity of the situation. And they couldn't see a way out besides death.

Salem could not blame any of them. Not this time. Not when she had been having similar thoughts. Even though she was immortal, the fear was coursing through her veins just as much.

However, she could not be swallowed up by the fear again. She had been fighting against it while waiting for Cinder and her group to return, using all types of methods to vent her stress and fear. But no more.

She looked at her reflection in the window, her pale face and dark black dress staring back at her. She was the immortal sorceress Salem. She had revolted against the gods and walked upon Remnant for ages, biding her time for the perfect opportunity to drown the world in despair. She would not let it all collapse so easily.

"Foolish, quite foolish."

She gripped her head, starting back. All the powerful thoughts she had been thinking a few seconds before suddenly felt meaningless as the cold mocking voice spoke in her head. As it did so, Salem suddenly began visualizing images in her head. She saw the continent of Anima crumbling into pieces. She saw the barren wasteland left behind, filling up with water as the ocean began to flow into the new crater. And finally, the face that had haunted her nightmares. A sneering leer dotted with two cold red eyes and crowned with two horns.

"My Queen!"

Tyrion was beside her, peering at her with great concern. Salem realized she was on her hands and knees, sweating profusely. Her servants stood around her, looking down with a mixture of concern and sympathy.

"I'm fine," Salem said between gasps, "I'm fine. Move aside."

They stepped back, letting her stand back up. She tried to reach her full height, but her spine and legs did not seem to want to let her go much higher than a hunch. She made her way back to her seat at the table, waving off her concerned servants.

"My apologies," she said once she sat down, "Something came over me. But it is no matter now."

"Salem," Cinder suddenly spoke up, not bothering to say, "my lady".

Usually, Salem would have scorned such behavior and lack of respect. Right now, though, she was in too much of turmoil to care. She just nodded for Cinder to continue. The Fall Maiden looked hesitant for a second, before saying, "Is there a point in going any further?"

A deafening silence fell over the table. The other servants did not say anything, but as they looked at Salem for her response, their expressions said it all. They were wondering the exact same thing.

Salem began to rise out of her chair menacingly, glowering down at Cinder and ready to reprimand her for even asking such a thing. However, the moment she opened her mouth, the words simply died in her throat. She tried again with the same result. It didn't take long for Salem to realized why she was having so much trouble. It was because she had been thinking about this question herself for quite a while. And now, when it was finally asked to her by someone else, she found it hard to answer.

She lowered herself back into her seat slowly, her glower reverting to a solemn face that did fit her.

"I… don't know, Cinder," she replied quietly, "I don't know. Now leave me. All of you. Train yourselves."

Mercury opened his mouth, about to ask, "Train ourselves for what?" But Emerald elbowed him in the ribs and gestured to the door. The rest of the servants followed suit, except for Tyrion who seemed hard set to stay by his mistresses' side. It took both Cinder and Watts to drag the scorpion faunus out, a herculean task once he began thrashing about. But they managed, closing the double doors behind them and leaving their master to process her thoughts. And her motivations.

"This is seriously messed up," Mercury spat once the doors closed.

"Mercury!" Emerald hissed angrily at him.

"What?" Mercury sneered back at her, "Are you seriously telling me to stop after everything? You can't tell me that your calm after hearing our master basically say she has given up entirely and is ready to be eaten by the wolves!"

A flash of white sped towards Mercury and the teen suddenly found himself pinned against the wall. Tyrion snarled, holding his arm against Mercury's neck and aiming his scorpion tail pointing directly at his head.

"You dare question our Queen?!"

Mercury tried to respond but could only gurgle as Tyrion's arm dug into his windpipe.

"Let him go, Tyrion."

Cinder stepped forward, her arm blazing with fiery light. Her own eye was fixed on Tyrion, unflinching as he turned his crazed look upon her.

"You agree with him?!" Tyrion spat, "Have you also lost your place?"

"I still have faith in our master," Cinder said slowly, gritting her teeth, "However, after what we just witnessed, I don't know what a possible course of action could be. Even you must understand that fact, Tyrion."

There was a short pause, during which Cinder and Tyrion stared each other down. Then Tyrion sighed and relinquished his hold off of Mercury, letting the teen fall to the ground, coughing and spluttering.

"I just don't understand why," Tyrion said, his voice suddenly low and pleading, "Why would something come and ruin our Queens plans?"

"We may never know," Cinder said, turning away and heading down the hall, "But for now, all we can do is hope that Salem has something up her sleeve and assist her in any way possible. Otherwise, there isn't much for us."

The others nodded. Then, Emerald, who was helping Mercury up, looked around in confusion.

"Wait a second. Where is Watts?"

The doctor, who had left the room alongside them, had completely disappeared. Cinder scanned the hall, seeing nothing.

"He must have walked away when we weren't paying attention," she guessed, "Probably heading to his labs so he could continue his insane experiments."

Meanwhile, Arthur Watts was in his quarters, pacing up and down. He had indeed left during Mercury's and Tyrion's scuffle, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to care about them.

"No, no, no," he repeated to himself as he paced, his mustache bristling, "This just cannot be. Salem is beginning to lose herself in misery, leaving us to flounder helplessly. If this continues… I will be killed for sure."

The very thought made him tear at his hair and suit. Despite being a man of science and a doctor by trade, the thought of his own death made him sick. It was a fear that he had kept secret from everyone including his comrades and even Salem herself.

It had been harder to keep it secret in recent times. Ever since Frieza burst onto the scene and began displaying his might, Watts had started to truly fear for his life. He had joined with Salem in the part because he would be safe under her wing, feared by everyone in Remnant. Now though… they were the ones cowering in fear with no clear objective. The plan for the Relics seems beyond hopeless and trying to fight against this new force is laughable.

Watt's footsteps became more rapid as he struggled to keep himself calm. He delved into his memory, trying to find something from his many experiences that could help him. But it was useless. None of his past troubles had even been close to this magnitude. He could not run away from this or fight his way through this.

"There must be a way," he said to himself, "There must be a way to survive. There just must!"

It was then, just as Watts had given up hope himself, that an idea surfaced. An idea he had never considered. An idea beyond insane but at the same time was reasonable and almost obvious.

He toyed with it for a second, wondering if it was even worth it. However, it did not take him long to make a decision. There was too much at stake.

He chuckled slightly.

"There is an old saying. 'If you can't beat them, join them.'"

* * *

It was quite on the isle of Patch. Very little stirred. Only the wind caused small disturbances in the trees, creating a low murmur throughout the island. To any newcomer, this place would have looked like a creepy and abandoned island.

However, there was one house that bustled with activity.

The Xiao-Long household was currently dealing with a large group of unexpected guests. For Tai, it had been quite the shock to suddenly find his ex-wife, brother-in-law, two daughters, Vegeta and all their friends jump through a portal, some of them half-dead and everyone exhibiting a level of fear that would attract a stampede of Grimm.

He was quickly filled in on the recent events and things began to calm down as people settled down, finally taking a breath and processing everything that had just happened. The young Huntsmen and Dende sat in the living room together, not speaking much. Meanwhile, Bulma and Neo retired to bed, the former on the verge of collapse after trying to fight an army. Qrow sat in the kitchen, guzzling down any liquor that Tai kept in the kitchen, which wasn't much. Raven, who did not say a word to her former husband, left the house to burry Vernal on a cliff edge and made sure the girl got a proper send off. Currently, Raven was killing any nearby Grimm that approached, using the activity to keep her mind away from the horrible thoughts tormenting her. Finally, the two Saiyan's, Krillin, and Piccolo stood on the porch, conversing quietly together. They had been doing so for quite some time and even Goku had kept a very serious attitude during the entire conversation.

Everyone was so busy either sulking, drinking, talking, hunting, or sleeping that when the ground suddenly shook violently and nearly brought the house down, the reaction was quite underwhelming. Even the bright orange glow of Ki energy visible over the horizon, nearly blocking out the rising sun, did not garner much attention from anyone. They were just too numb to care much. Or it was because they already knew what it was and could not waste energy crying over how Frieza had once more taken a chunk of Remnant and wiped it from existence.

Now, about eight hours since Anima had been demolished, the house had once more fallen under a state of quite thought. Nobody had moved from where they had been, and nothing had changed.

Gohan woke to the sound of a female voice talking. He stirred, blinking blearily and stared around for the noise. He finally locked onto the television in the living room which was right now showing the news station. Everyone else in the room were watching intently as the reporter spoke, her voice professional but betraying a tinge of panic.

"Millions around Remnant are still in shock after what seemed to be an incredible earthquake that shook the world and a massive light that lit up the sky. However, the truth behind this incident is far more terrifying then anything we could have expected. Unbelievably, the continent of Anima has been destroyed, leveled by an almighty explosion that left a crater, experts believe, could be about three thousand meters deep and, near the center, almost five thousand! We are now turning to our onsite reporter, Mr. Hansen, who is flying in an airship over the crater. Chris, can you tell us more about the situation?"

The TV switched to a visual of another reporter in the airship, looking down over a large expanse of water.

"I will certainly try, Ellen," Chris said, his face and voice both utterly confused and terrified, "But I must say I am at a loss for words. Right now, it looks like we are flying over a large expanse of ocean. But, if you check our current coordinates on any map, we should be hovering just above Mistral City. We have concluded that the crater was deep enough for water from the oceans that once surrounded Anima to suddenly start pouring in, filling up the crater and virtually making a new ocean! In fact, this theory has been confirmed as scientists are reporting sudden changes in ocean levels around Remnant, especially in this region."

"Is there anything we can see of Anima right now?" asked Ellen, her voice cracking slightly.

"Not really," Chris responded, "Even the massive mountains that used to be here, which should have been tall enough to breach the surface, are not visible at all. It almost seems like the continent was carved out of the ground and just dumped away."

"Do we have any survivors from the devastating event?"

Chris gulped hard. "Search teams have been deployed all over in search of any. However, there hasn't been a single survivor yet. Not even a single body has been found. It's as if Anima was never there. However, the one shred of good news I can give is that the port town Argus, protected under Atlas rule, was not touched by this phenomenon. The town is now on a small island, only about twice the size as the island of Patch, which is just off Vale's coast and is one of the smallest land masses in Remnant. The people have been shaken deeply, but very few have been harmed. The rest of Anima, however… well, the casualty count is in the hundreds of thousands to millions."

"Do we have any idea of how this massive tragedy occurred?" Ellen asked.

Chris shook his head as the airship circled around, heading away from the newly created ocean.

"Scientists are baffled by these turns of events. There is no bomb in Remnant that has this type of power at the moment and even then, this just doesn't seem like destruction from a bomb."

"Well," Ellen said with difficulty, "Thank you, Chris, for your report. Please return safely," she turns to the camera, "This has been breaking news at Remnant World News. My name is Ellen Ripley and we here wish you a safe day."

The television was shut off. Yang tossed the remote onto the coffee table before laying back in the armchair she was sitting in. On her lap, a small black and white dog snoozed quietly, not reacting to any of the despair around him.

Beside Gohan, Ruby sat hunched over, eyes fixated on the ground. When the television was shut off, she sighed deeply and looked around at everyone else.

"What are we going to do?" she simply asked.

No one responded immediately. There was no clear answer to that question.

"We will find a way," Gohan said, surprising everyone. No one had noticed that he had woken up from his slumber. The small boy looked around; his expression determined.

"I know it looks bad, especially with what has happened to the continent. But I am sure we can find a way to beat him."

"That's easy for you to say," Yang said sourly, "You are powerful four-year-old who stood his ground against him and even pushed him back."

"Yes," Ren agreed, "That was quite the stunning display. Were you always hiding this incredible power, Gohan?"

Gohan sighed sadly, avoiding everyone's gaze.

"Not really. It only comes out when I get really angry. But I can't normally use that type of power. And even if I could, it really wouldn't matter. It didn't faze him in the slightest except for making him angry."

The Huntsmen fell silent, remembering how Frieza had shrugged off the attacks. Gohan felt bad for breaking their hopes, especially after trying to cheer them up. But it was better than lying to them.

"I don't think that is necessarily true," a voice said.

Blake sat in another chair across the room from Gohan. Beside her sat Sun, twirling his tail slowly, his usual cheery face absent. Gohan realized that he had not been introduced to these two yet, though he had seen them arrive with Piccolo during the battle. Blake noticed Gohan's questioning look and smiled weakly.

"Oh, sorry. We haven't met yet. My name is Blake Belladonna and my companion here is Sun Wukong."

She gestured to Sun who waved slightly at Gohan.

"We have heard a lot about you from Piccolo, who took us under his wing and trained us to become far more powerful. Anyway, Piccolo believes that you have great potential, which only really appears when you get angry. But, he also believes, and I agree with him, that you can tap into this potential and become far more powerful without needing to be pushed to the brink."

Gohan was silent, considering these words. They weren't foreign to him. His father had said the same thing to him many times, though he had only advised Gohan to train harder. Unfortunately, that was the only solution Goku really had for getting stronger. Determination and lots off harsh training.

As he mulled these thoughts over, Yang suddenly spoke up. The yellow haired bombshell was glaring at Blake.

"I would expect you to tell him to run away. Why not? It worked for you, didn't it?"

Blake looked like she had been slapped in the face. She shuddered, tears pooling to her eyes. She quickly looked down, unable to look at Yang or anyone else. Beside her, Sun shot up, his solemn expression turning into rage.

"What the hell! Are you seriously blaming her for this now!"

Yang looked ready to retort, but Ruby cut in.

"GUYS! CAN WE NOT FIGHT AMONGST OURSELVES WHILE FRIEZA IS OUT THERE KILLING INNOCENT PEOPLE!"

Her words echoed around the room. The dog in Yang's lap twitched but did not move from his position. Yang looked down at him, shame crossing over her face.

"I'm… sorry. You are right, Ruby."

She looked over at Blake and her face softened.

"And I'm sorry, Blake. I truly am. That was unfair of me. Especially after all you probably have been through and after you came to help us. I'm just…"

Yang trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. Blake, however, nodded in understanding smiling sadly at Yang.

"Don't apologize, Yang. After what just happened, I don't blame you for being angry. Besides," Blake's smile faded, and she clenched her fists tightly, "You do have a point. I did run away from Beacon."

They were silent for a few seconds. Yang's expression was unreadable, and the other Huntsmen were worried that she would say something spiteful. Then she just sat back and chuckled quietly.

"Damn. This is one messed up team reunion."

Blake cracked a smile as Ruby and Weiss chuckled along with Yang. Even Jaune, Nora, and Ren, who had been sitting together quietly, let themselves chortle a little. Gohan smiled as laughter sparked within the room. It was a first step to hope.

After a few moments, Jaune finally said, "Anyway, why don't we exchange stories. I mean, I still don't know how Yang and Weiss met up with Vegeta and Goku. And I certainly don't know what Blake has been up to this past week."

The next hour blew by as stories were exchanged between the Huntsmen. Ruby recalled how she and Team JNR bumped into Gohan, Krillin, and Dende and how they fought against servant of Salem, Tyrion, and clashed with a massive and dangerous Grimm.

Weiss described how Goku had been recovered from a mysterious space ship and healed up. Anger flared from many of the Huntsmen as she talked about how her father stumbled across them having dinner and his attitude towards her. She calmed them down by saying how Goku got her out of there, even out flying an Atlas attack force, and landed in Anima where they would eventually meet Yang and Vegeta at Raven's tribe.

Blake was next and she and Sun took turns telling the story of how Piccolo appeared out of nowhere and joined them on their mission to stop the White Fang. Sun then took over the story when it came to them meeting Blake's parents and how the Frieza Force suddenly attacked them, killing Blake's parents and massacring Menagerie. Everyone flinched, giving Blake words of comfort. Surprisingly, the cat faunus didn't break down. She just nodded resolutely, taking a few deep breaths before continuing the story and recalling how they left Menagerie via boat and then traveled across Anima towards Mistral, training the whole time under Piccolo.

Attention turned to Yang as she regaled them about her meeting with the Prince of Saiyan and how he had almost killed her and Tai. She described how Vegeta agreed to train her and once again nearly killed her during the process. Despite this, she smiled as she told them the harsh treatment, understanding finally why it had been so harsh. She recalls the day she and Vegeta left Patch in search of her mother, crossing over to Anima and coming across Raven's tribe where they ran into Weiss and Goku.

Finally, even Oscar gets in on the story telling. He had been very quiet throughout the conversation, not saying much and sort of fading into the background. Ozpin had not said anything either, keeping quiet in Oscar's subconscious. But once Yang was done, Ruby turned to him and asked him kindly how he met up with Bulma and Neo. He sighed, but obliged, deciding to get his mind off of other, more unpleasant things. He describes how he met Bulma and how the woman joined him on his journey to Mistral. The Huntsmen were wide eyed as he recalled some of the inventions Bulma had talked about. They were all very aware of her expertise, but some of things Oscar described seemed completely impossible. Gohan smiled, knowing that despite this world's decent technological advances, they had still not advanced as far as Bulma. Oscar continued, telling the group about how he and Bulma arrived in Mistral and went to a bar that they knew Qrow would visit according to Ozpin. He recalled, somewhat fondly, how they had met Neo, threatening to kill them before they convinced her to join and help them.

Once Oscar had finished his tale, the room went silent for a few minutes, everyone reminiscing about better times. It gave them a slight bit of hope. It reminded them that there was something worth fighting for. Even if the fight seemed hopeless.

Eventually, Yang stood up, stretching. The dog on her lap (Gohan had asked Ruby during their conversation who that dog was to which she had answered his name was Zwei) jumped off and barked a few times before waddling out the door.

"Man," she said, straightening up, "I can't believe that everything that we had just discussed had only happened within a week. And more."

Blake nodded.

"So many people have died as well. People that we know and love and so many we have never met. It's just…," she paused, tensing up.

"Hard," Weiss finished for her, "So many families. Our families. Destroyed."

Nora, who was leaning against Ren, sighed sadly. Her usual spunk was gone, and she looked just as gloomy as everyone else.

"I kind of wish there was a way to revert everything back to normal. Like a bad dream."

There was silent agreement as thoughts shifted to fallen friends and family. Weiss tried to hide her tears as she thought about her parents and her brother. They had never treated her that well, but they had still been family and did not deserve the fate that they had been given. And of course, poor old Klein, always so kind to her. She will never see his smile or hear his funny jokes that always cheered her up ever again. They were now lost to time.

As Blake thought about her parents and Ilia, she did not cry. She had cried out all her tears earlier and she felt like she would never be able to cry again. But it wasn't just that. She knew that they would want her to move on, holding her head high in front of the challenges to come.

As they all mourned the many deaths that had occurred, Jaune suddenly stood up straight. He looked like he had just seen a ghost, pale and shaking.

"Jaune?" Ruby asked, staring at him with concern, "Are you okay?"

He did not answer. His eyes moved across the room, passing over everyone before locking onto a certain person. Gohan.

He stared at the boy for a few moments, not saying anything. Gohan looked back, wondering what was wrong. He was about to ask when Jaune finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

"The Dragon Balls," he said faintly, "They can bring people back from the dead, can't they?"

Gohan gulped slightly as all eyes turned to him. He remembered telling Ruby and Team JNR about the Dragon Balls and their powers, but by the looks he was receiving from the likes of Weiss, Blake and Yang, they had not been told about them.

Before Gohan could think of a response, however, a quiet voice spoke.

"They can. But we don't have them. They didn't come to this world with us."

Everyone turned to look at the small figure of Dende. The young Namekian had not spoken since he had woken up and healed the injured heroes. He had simply sat in a corner and done nothing, letting his mind wonder as everyone else recovered and talked. Now he looked up at Jaune, his eyes glassy.

"I'm sorry, Jaune. There is nothing we can do to bring our friends back."

Jaune's fists tightened, his nails digging into the palm of his hand. His face tensed up, straining against his jumbled emotions.

"No… no, there must be a way to bring them back," he murmured, "Can't we create these balls?"

Dende hesitated. His hesitation did not go unnoticed. All around the room, eyes narrowed in his direction. Jaune took a step forward, looming over the small Namekian.

"Dende," he said, his voice suddenly cold and hard, "What are you not telling us?"

Dende shrank away, trying to cover himself. Clearly, he was hiding something that he did not want the others to know. Even Gohan was staring at him, wondering what was going on with his friend. Why was he so afraid of Jaune's question? Unless…

"Dende," Gohan said slowly, his mind beginning to put pieces together, "Were the Dragon Balls made by Namekians?"

The way Dende looked at him with startled eyes told Gohan he had hit the jackpot. Unfortunately, this did not go down well with the others. Before anything else was said, Jaune suddenly lunged forward and lifted Dende off his feet. Gohan cried out in shock, but before he could move forward, a hand blocked his path. He turned to see Yang, resolutely keeping her arm in front of him as she glared at Dende.

"YOU COULD MAKE THESE DRAGON BALLS THE WHOLE TIME?!" Jaune roared, "AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN AFTER EVERYTHING? AFTER SO MANY PEOPLE DIED?!"

Dende tried to speak, but his voice caught in his throat. Meanwhile, some of the other Huntsmen had snapped out of their stupor. Ruby, Nora, and Ren sprang to Jaune and tried to calm him down, wrestling the young Namekian out of his grip. Blake, Weiss, and Oscar were staring dumbly at Dende, beginning to come to terms with what Jaune was implying. Yang still kept her arm across Gohan, even as the young boy began to protest. The once quiet, mournful room had burst into chaos, spiraling out of control. That is until a new voice rang through the air.

"What is going on here?"

Tai stood at the doorway, his face looking concerned as he saw the angry faces looking at him. At his feet, Zwei the dog barked at them, his tongue lolling out slightly.

"Dad!" Ruby cried, still trying to get Jaune to let go of Dende, "Don't worry about us. We are just-"

"THIS BASTARD CAN BRING BACK OUR FRIENDS!" Jaune bellowed, his self-control now completely gone, "BUT HE HASN'T-"

"Because it would be unwise to do so."

Piccolo joined Tai in the doorway, looking hard at Jaune. Behind him, Goku, Vegeta, Krillin, Raven, Qrow, Bulma, and Neo all stood in the hallway. They had all been curious about the sudden outburst of noise coming from the living room and had come to investigate. Now they began to enter, filling up the living room until it felt slightly cramped.

Piccolo stepped up to Jaune and Dende and deftly took the young Namekian from the Huntsmen's grip. Jaune stepped back slightly, though his anger was still very much burning.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked Piccolo, "How would it be unwise to create something that could literally solve all our problems?"

There was a short silence as some of the newcomers sighed sadly. Goku and Krillin exchanged pained looks, realizing immediately what they were discussing. Vegeta grunted in annoyance, turning away to stare at a wall. Piccolo simply glared at Jaune for a few seconds before responding calmly.

"The Dragon Balls, though very useful in most cases, would only be another liability to us. If Dende created them, we would be giving our greatest and most powerful enemy another motive."

Jaune looked taken aback by this answer. His uncontrollable rage seemed to drain out of him as he tried to understand what Piccolo meant. As he did so, Blake spoke up.

"You mean Frieza? What would he want with the Dragon Balls?"

Piccolo looked a little surprised at the question before remembering that Blake, and most of the other Huntsmen do not know the power of the Dragon Balls. He sighed, but proceeded to explain the Dragon Balls to them, touching upon the fact that there are seven of them and once brought together, they summon a mystical dragon that will grant any wish to the summoner and have a one-year recharge time.

"Knowing all of this," he finished off, "We know that Frieza desires to use them for his wish of immortality."

"Which means," Krillin said, "If Dende did create the Dragon Balls for us, which we did consider doing by the way, we would have to once again race against Frieza for the Dragon Balls just like we did on Namek. But even then, creating the opportunity for Frieza to gain immortality is just simply out of the question."

Understanding seemed to flow through many of the Huntsmen. All except for Jaune, who still seemed unconvinced by the argument. He jabbed a finger at Piccolo's direction, his anger giving him confidence.

"Hold on a second. Why would we need to race Frieza at all? If we created the Dragon Balls here, we would have all of them in one spot and just summon the dragon before Frieza even realized."

Piccolo shook his head, annoyance beginning to show on his face.

"Unfortunately, that's not how it works exactly. Once the Dragon Balls are made, they will instantly separate and launch themselves across the world into random places, waiting for us to collect them."

"Then," Jaune stammered, clearly grasping for straws, "Then, we can just find them! Frieza won't know right away, giving us a head start and we also have that tracker that Bulma made for them, right?"

He turned to Bulma, hopping for confirmation. But she only shook her head.

"Sorry, buddy. I don't have the Dragon Radar anymore. I used it to build the Relic Radar. And I don't have the necessary parts to build another Dragon Radar," she looked up at Juane, seeing his face fall, all his emotion flowing out of him, "I'm sorry Jaune but they are right. We cannot use the Dragon Balls when we know we are giving Frieza another chance at gaining his wish."

Jaune stumbled back, falling into a chair and slumping against the back of it. He hung his head low, shuddering as tears began to cascade from his eyes. His friends look at him sadly, wanting to comfort him but knowing there was nothing they could say to help. Even Piccolo and Dende looked sympathetic. They too wished that they could use the Dragon Balls to solve their problems. Yet, the risks far outweighed the benefits.

After a few moments, Vegeta grunted loudly, gaining everyone's attention.

"If you lot are done with this useless talk, let us actually discuss how we are going to defeat that bastard. But before that," he nudged that coffee table with his leg, "I would first like to know why the hell we risked our lives trying to retrieve this stupid lamp."

Everyone turned to look at the Relic of Knowledge. Ever since they had escaped, the Relic had sort of been sidelined after the events that occurred at Haven. Now, they stared at the only real victory that got gotten that day.

"I can answer that question, Vegeta."

Oscar stood up, channeling the spirit of Ozpin. He stepped towards the Relic, inspecting it from all sides. Then he turned back to the room at large, looking over all the occupants.

"The Relic of Knowledge is one of four ancient artifacts created by the gods themselves. If all four are brought together, the gods will appear on this world once more."

Goku chuckled slightly.

"That kinda sounds like the Dragon Balls."

Ozpin smiled.

"Exactly. Though they do not have the power to grant any wish, they maybe our key to beating Frieza. This is why I asked Bulma to build the Relic Radar in the first place."

Bulma nodded, holding up the device in her hand. Beside her, Qrow shook his head in disbelief.

"Hold on a second," he said, "Where are you going with this? How are you sure that the Relics will give us a chance to defeat Frieza of all people? As far as we know, we can't even use them to beat Salem, a much smaller threat."

"You are correct, Qrow," Ozpin said, "However, Salem is different in one major way. She is immortal. However, Frieza is just as mortal as us and I believe that all we need is a power that far surpasses him."

Raven's eyes widened, realizing what Ozpin was implying.

"You don't mean… gather the Relics and ask the gods to help us defeat Frieza?"

There was a deafening silence as the idea went through everyone's minds. It seemed crazy at first. But as the thought lingered, many of them began to seriously wonder. Could that be possible?

Ozpin nodded.

"I understand this seems quite far-fetched, but right now, it may be our best bet. Frieza does not know about the Relics. And while Salem and her minions do, beating them to the others may not be so hard."

"Unacceptable!"

Vegeta glowered at Ozpin, his fists clenched. The spirit looked slightly surprised at the anger he was receiving and was about to ask what Vegeta meant, but the Prince rolled over him.

"I DID NOT TRAIN ALL THIS TIME TO ASK SOME DAMN GODS TO BEAT FRIEZA FOR ME! I WILL GET MY REVENGE FOR THE SAIYAN RACE, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!"

Ozpin didn't know how to respond. He had not expected this type of backlash. Fortunately for him, Goku was on his side. The Saiyan stood, facing Vegeta.

"I understand where you're coming from, Vegeta, but you know as well as anyone that at the stage we are right now, none of us stand a chance in beating Frieza. Even if we train hard now, we will still be far too weak to stand up to his other forms."

To everyone's surprise, Vegeta actually smirked at this.

"You really are a fool, Kakarot. You don't even realize that you and I are now far more powerful after that battle."

Confusion spread through the room as the others tried to wrap their minds around what Vegeta was saying.

"Umm… Getes?" Yang asked carefully, not wanting to offend the prideful warrior, "What are you talking about? Are you somehow suggesting that since you guys got beaten up, you are now stronger?"

"That is exactly what I'm saying!" Vegeta snapped.

The Huntsmen stared at him, completely at a loss. Even the likes of Krillin, Piccolo, and Gohan were looking at Vegeta with puzzled looks.

"You see," Vegeta explained, "Our Saiyan biology is built off of combat. That includes when we are beaten to near death, we grow exponentially stronger afterward. The more we are beaten, the larger the boost of power is! We call this a Zenkai boost."

Piccolo scrutinized Vegeta and Goku closely. After a few seconds, he gasped.

"He's right! Their energy is much larger now!"

Krillin and Gohan concentrated themselves and found that Piccolo was right. The two Saiyan's power levels had risen to more than double their previous level. In fact…

"Wait a second!" Krillin exclaimed excitedly, "You guys may be stronger than Frieza!"

Vegeta nodded smugly. However, Goku shook his head.

"No, we are not," he said sternly, "Vegeta, don't let this get to your head. You should know that even with this power up, you and I are not powerful enough. Maybe we could beat his first form, but you said yourself that he can transform into a from that we could not even compare to."

Vegeta snarled angrily. He opened his mouth to retort, but he then closed it. Instead, he turned away, clearly trying to keep his anger under control. Meanwhile, Goku turned back to Ozpin.

"I think that your plan is indeed our best bet. Of course, we must train much more ourselves and become stronger. But at the end of the day, if we can get the gods to help, then Frieza will have far bigger problems than us."

Ozpin nodded and looked around.

"If there are no more objections to this, then we shall begin formulating a plan to retrieve the other Relics."

No one said anything. Vegeta muttered somethings but said nothing more. The Huntsmen nodded determinedly, relieved that they had a plan.

"Then it's settled," Goku said, "Our new mission is to find the Relics and summon the gods," he paused for a moment and then added, his voice solemn, "I understand you guys are right now very scared and probably on the verge of just giving up. But I need you guys to help me or we won't be able to do this and avenge our fallen friends and family. And-"

"Goku," a voice interrupted. The Saiyan turned to see Jaune stand up straight, looking right at him. His anger had now completely receded, replaced by the determination flowing through all the others.

"We said this before, and we will say it again. We will not give up anymore. We will fight to the very end."

Around him, the other Huntsmen stood, signifying their agreement. Gohan smiled in relief as he saw his friends rejuvenated from their depression. Vegeta grunted, scowling, though he his eyes were not dark. Goku grinned broadly, feeling a wave of immense pride for the Huntsmen and the will they displayed.

"Man," Qrow chuckled quietly, "Those kids are far past where we were their age."

Tai and Raven nodded, the former saying, "Well, in our defense, we didn't have to train so hard because our world wasn't under threat."

After a few moments, Ozpin clapped his hands.

"I am glad that we are all in agreement. Now, we should all get some rest. As Goku said, we need to train hard before we leave to find the Relics and we do not have much time. We cannot predict what Frieza does next and Salem will still have her eyes on the Relics herself. We do not have a moment to lose."

The room began to move once more as people began to file out. Nobody said anything, but the atmosphere was marginally better than before.

Yang and Gohan were at the end of the line. As they exited, however, they looked back to see Ruby still standing next to the coffee table, her eyes fixed on the Relic.

"Ruby?" Yang called, "Everything okay?"

The red-haired Huntress did not reply. At this point, some of the others had come back to see what was going on.

"Come on you delinquent," Weiss said, trying to sound commanding, "Let's get some sleep. We don't want Vegeta to accidently kill us during training."

Ruby finally looked over at the doorway, seeing everyone now crammed in the hallway staring at her. She said nothing for a second, wondering if she dared to ask. But she had to know.

"Ozpin," she said quietly, "You said before that this specific Relic can answer any question, right?"

Ozpin shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes, I did. But what does that have to do with anything?"

Ruby looked back at the blue lamp, her silver eyes glistening slightly.

"I have something I want to ask."

There was a stunned silence. Ruby did not elaborate and continued staring at the Relic, pondering once more if she should go along with this. Before she could do anything though, Piccolo cut in.

"I presume you want to ask the Relic if there is any other way of beating Frieza? Well, save your breath. We have a plan in mind, and we should not allow ourselves to be sidetracked."

"He is right," Ozpin said quickly, "Besides, the Relic can only answer three questions every century. I have already used up one and we should save the other two for things that are absolutely necessary."

Ruby shook her head.

"That is not what I want to ask it. I have another question in mind. Something that has been me bothering this whole time."

"What do you mean?" Gohan asked, confused to what she could be referring to, "Is there something we are missing?"

Ruby looked back at the group and her eyes seemed to fixate on two specific people. Goku and Vegeta.

"I want to know what happened in the past between Frieza and the Saiyan's. The whole truth, Vegeta. Even you do not know much of what had happened."

Vegeta was about to retort angrily, but Goku spoke over him.

"But why would that be important?"

"Because," Ruby said, "I want to know why Frieza wants to kill you so badly. At Haven, he talked about your kind with such hatred and distaste. I know this may sound strange, but I just need to understand."

The others exchanged puzzled looks. Was this really worth asking a mystical object about? The version they had heard from Vegeta, though not very detailed, was good enough for many of them.

Eventually, a surprising advocate stepped forward. Vegeta pushed himself back into the living room and, scowling at Ruby, sat on a couch.

"Fine then. I will indulge you on this if only to find out the whole truth for myself. But I believe I know it all already."

"Count me in as well," Goku said, also coming in and smiling at Ruby, "To be honest, I am curious to know more about the other Saiyan's."

Ruby felt a great wave of gratitude to the two Saiyan's. As the they entered, the others all sighed and followed suit. There was no point arguing anymore, especially with their two most powerful members on board. Ozpin looked very reluctant but joined them all the same, saying as he did so, "If you are sure about this, Ruby, then just say the name, 'Jinn'. It will awaken the Relic."

Ruby was too excited to even ask what he meant. She just turned to the lamp before her and spoke loudly and clearly.

"Jinn."

Instantly, the Relic of Knowledge glowed brightly. A trail of blue mist wafted from it, seeping into the air. Everyone stared transfixed as the mist began to manifest itself into the figure of a woman, wearing short chains from her wrists and ankles but no visible clothing. Her hair flowed behind her as she formed fully, and she gave a great yawn as she stretched in midair.

"My, my," she said, "It has been far too long!"

She put her hand under her chin and looked down upon her audience, smirking at the expressions of shock on their faces.

"Well, this certainly is quite the party," she said in an amused tone, "Do you all seek some sort of knowledge?"

Ruby, forcing herself to get over her initial shock, cleared her throat.

"Umm…, actually I have a question, Ms. Jinn."

Jinn glanced down at Ruby, still smiling.

"Ah, I see. It was you who summoned me. Well then, before you ask your question, allow me to presume that this question may have something to do with the likes of that foreign creature destroying this world."

Ruby was taken aback by this. So much so that she couldn't find the right words to respond with. Luckily, Ozpin rescued her from an embarrassing moment."

"Yes, Jinn. Though it is not exactly the question you may have been expecting."

Jinn turned her attention to him, and her smile grew.

"Well, look who we have here. If it isn't Ozpin. Already in a new body I see."

Ozpin turned away, clearly uncomfortable.

"Uh, yes."

"Such an unfortunate curse you have," Jinn said, her voice sympathetic, "Especially when you must live through times like this."

Ozpin didn't know exactly how to respond to that. But before he could, Vegeta decided to end this line of conversation.

"Enough of this! We came here to ask a question, not talk about useless drivel."

Jinn scowled in his direction.

"I would have hoped people from other worlds would be more polite, but you seem to be proving me wrong, Prince Vegeta."

She sighed, ignoring Vegeta's snarl of contempt. Instead, she turned back to Ruby, smiling down at her with a mischievous grin.

"Anyway, let's get down to business. What is your question, Ruby Rose?"

Ruby was silent for a few moments. She looked back at Goku and Vegeta, wondering once more if it was worth it. Was it truly something she needed to know?

A laughing voice echoed in her head. The demonic face of Frieza flashed before her eyes and as it did, she heard the cold voice speak.

"You Saiyan's have begun to repopulate? No, this won't do."

Ruby turned back to Jinn, her face set.

"What is the history between Frieza and the Saiyans?"

Jinn considered her for a second, her smile wavering slightly.

"My, a question that even I may have trouble answering. A story from another universe…," she fell silent for a moment, clearly deep in thought.

"But can you do it?" Goku asked, his voice surprisingly serious. He had sat up, eager to listen to the answer Jinn would give.

"Of course, I can," Jinn said irritably, waving him aside, "But I will have to use more energy than normal. So, here's my proposition."

She leaned forward; her smile replaced by a business-like face. The group watched her closely, wondering what she meant by "proposition".

"You still have two questions for this century. However, if you would like me to answer this, it will consume both of them. Are you prepared to make that commitment?"

"Absolutely not!" Ozpin immediately yelled, shooting up to his feet, "We don't know what will happen in these coming days, but if something goes south, we will need to use the Relic's wisdom!"

Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but Qrow overrode her. He was leaning against the wall, taking large drafts from his flask.

"Sorry, Oz, but I'm going to disagree with you on this for many reasons. One, if this plan of ours does goes south, we will be dead. There is no two ways about it. Second, at this point, all of us are quite curious about this. Besides, as Ruby said, maybe there could be a clue in defeating Frieza, as crazy as that sounds."

The room nodded in unison; their eyes now fixed back onto Jinn. The only person not staring at Jinn was Vegeta, who gave Ozpin a deep scowl, silencing the wise spirit of any other objections he might have.

"So, I take it that you will be going through with this?" Jinn asked presently.

Ruby nodded and the blue spirit closed her eyes. She began to glow and as she did so, the house around the group began to dissolve. There were cries of shock as the entire group suddenly found themselves in a white landscape that stretched around them as far as the eye can see. What was even worse, everyone suddenly became separated. No two people were in the same place. Everyone was alone.

"What the-," Ruby stammered, "Guys! Weiss!? Yang!? Gohan!? Anyone there!?"

"This is insane!" Goku exclaimed, staring around him at the vast expanse around him, "Where did everyone go!"

"Damn that woman!" Vegeta roared in rage, summoning Ki energy into his palm, "I will destroy you and this damn dimension you have sucked me into!"

As everyone in their separate white world stumbled around, trying to get their bearings, a sudden voice spoke to all of them. It was Jinn.

"Relax, your all safe. Just sit back and watch as I show you tale behind Frieza and the Saiyan race."

All around the landscape changed once more. Everyone suddenly found themselves floating through space, staring at a planet in the distance.

"No…," Vegeta croaked, the anger leaving him, "It can't be…"

* * *

"Our story begins here, many years ago," Jinn continued, "On Planet Vegeta. This is home to the Saiyan race, ruled by their king, King Vegeta. They were a ruthless warrior race, conquering many other worlds for the thrill of fighting. However, their reign at the top would soon come to an end."

As she spoke, a massive round spacecraft began approaching the planet at a quick pace. Around it, thousands of small spacecrafts flew alongside.

"That ship…" Weiss muttered, staring in awe, "It's exactly like the ship that Goku was found on."

The fleet entered the planet's atmosphere and the scene changed. Now, everyone was overlooking a massive palace on the planet. From above, the ships descended from the sky. On the ground, citizens of the planet stared up in shock, pointing and yelling.

The largest ship landed near the palace along with a few other smaller ships. A group of Saiyans, fully armored in space armor and sporting monkey like tails, stood waiting for them.

In the front was a tall Saiyan with red armor and matching red cape. His face was arrogant and royal, accompanied by a black goatee. Topping it off, his hair stood up in black spikes. The watchers from Remnant gasped. The Saiyan was the spitting image of the Vegeta they know so well.

Hatches on the spacecrafts slid open. Gang planks were lowered onto the ground and a troop of soldiers disembarked. They formed ranks around the main spacecraft, leaving a pathway in the center. A troop of five in particular flamboyantly jumped off and landed before the Saiyans, striking poses. Then from the main ship, three figures began descending down.

The first was a hulking figure, nearly twice the size of Piccolo. He wore battle armor over his body just like everyone else, but he also had a long cape flowing from the shoulder pads. Atop his head were two long horns sticking upward, crowning his regal but smug face. His resemblance to a certain tyrant was quite uncanny.

The other figure was a short plump blue colored alien. She floated slightly off the ground, maybe trying to compensate for her lack of height. Her face was round, and she wore a very creepy smile on her face that spread from one side to another.

But it was the final figure that many of the stunned watchers looked at. He stood between the other two, overshadowed slightly by the horned alien but still reasonably sized. He wore no battle armor, but he was still quite recognizable to anyone who had seen him before.

The three began walking towards the waiting Saiyans, striding down the pathway formed by their troops. As they approached, the Saiyans all suddenly knelt, including the leader.

"King Cold," the leader said, "It is an honor to host you on our planet."

The massive alien stopped before the Saiyan. He chuckled slightly, though nothing funny had been said.

"Why thank you, King Vegeta," he said, his voice smooth and cordial, "I see that Planet Vegeta is faring as well as always."

Watching the exchange, Vegeta clenched his fists as his father knelt before the other king. His rage boiled at the humiliation and he wished he could somehow step in and blow the bastard away.

"Yes," King Vegeta continued, "Our missions to other planets have been quite successful. There is not many that can stand up to the might of Saiyans."  
He said this last part with unmistakable pride and many of the watchers recognized it as the same pride that constantly surrounded Vegeta.

"Like father, like son I guess," Yang murmured quietly.

King Cold laughed in delight.

"Excellent! Now, let us get down to business, shall we?"

He gestured behind him to the center figure and all eyes, including the watchers, turned to see Frieza step up. He barely looked any different than his current self, except for the fact he was not wearing armor and he was slightly shorter. But his face was still the same evil and malicious one that the watchers knew all too well.

"I would like to announce," King Cold said loudly and clearly, "That I'm stepping down from my position as tyrant of the universe!"

The Saiyans exchanged surprised looks, murmuring to each other. King Vegeta said nothing, but his fists tightened over his knee.

"In my stead," King Cold continued, "My son, Frieza, will be inheriting the throne. This will mean that everything belonged to me is also being passed down. The Cold Force," he gestured around at all the troops, "Will now be known as the Frieza Force. All planets that were under my rule will now answer to him."

There was a short silence as the Saiyans digested this information. Despite being powerful warriors, they wore expressions of worry and even fright. Clearly, they were not too sure about being led by another, much younger ruler. Especially when they didn't know much about him.

King Cold stepped back slightly, allowing his son to take center stage. Frieza took a moment to clear his throat, before looking up at the Saiyans. His blood red eyes pierced through all of them and he smirked mockingly.

"Greetings, monkeys," he said, "I am so very pleased that you will be working for me. I know that you are quite the powerful warrior race and are some of my father's favorite minions."

Despite the compliment, his voice had a tinge of malice to it that unnerved the Saiyans. They shifted uncomfortably, trying to avoid his evil gaze. Even the mighty King Vegeta was beginning to sweat. He had a feeling that this new emperor would not be the same as his father.

Frieza's grin grew wider as the silence stretched. He snapped his fingers in the direction of the short blue woman. She signaled to a nearby trooper who stepped forward, producing a large case that he opened in front of Frieza.

"To celebrate this joyous occasion," Frieza said, "I have a gift for you that will make your missions even easier."

He reached into the case and produced a device that many of the watchers recognized instantly. Neo touched her communication device reflexively as Frieza held up the scouter out to the Saiyans.

"I have been informed that you still use the outdated trackers that are both quite bulky and inaccurate," Frieza continued, "So our scientists have created a new tracking device that is both portable and accurate. As an added feature, it can detect enemy power levels so you can gauge how you match up against them. They also serve as useful communication devices."

He put the scouter around his left eye, clicking the red button on the side once it was secured. It beeped a few times as it started up and the Saiyans gasped in awe.

"As you can see," Frieza explained, "They are quite simple. All you need to do is press the button and the device will immediately start scanning for nearby energy levels and measuring them."

The Saiyan's nodded, some of them smiling and a few even clapping in appreciation. King Vegeta grinned and bowed his head towards Frieza.

"We are very grateful for this gift, Lord Frieza."

Frieza gestured to his side where a number of Frieza Soldiers were carrying large crates off of one of the spacecrafts.

"We are supplying you with a large amount that should cover most of your men. There will be regular shipments every month to avoid any shortages and-"

Suddenly, Frieza stopped. As everyone watched, the scouter over his eye began beeping. He looked at the data for a second and his lips began curling into an evil sneer.

"My, what do we have here," he whispered maliciously, "Several power levels in nearby towers. And all of them have their guns trained on this very spot."

King Vegeta staggered back slightly, his face going slack as he looked between Frieza and Cold, terrified of what their reaction would be. To his great surprise, Cold did not say anything, opting to just grin a little. But the wicked grin on Frieza's face frightened him greatly.

"It seems we have some trust issues," Frieza said, "Unfortunately, that simply won't do."

Faster than anyone could react, his shot his finger up towards a nearby watchtower and fired a beam of energy. A split-second later, the tower exploded, crumbling down on top of itself. Frieza pointed to another tower and fired once more and then one more time, pointing behind him and firing over his shoulder. The Saiyans sat frozen in horror as the towers collapsed, the screams echoing from them piercing their hearts. King Vegeta tried to say something, but he could only manage a few croaking sounds.

Lord Frieza smiled in satisfaction, leering down upon the king of the Saiyans, displaying no remorse for his actions. Behind him, his father too just smirked, as if he had predicted this would happen.

"I hope we can get along, monkey," Frieza said silkily to King Vegeta, "It would be shame if I had to exterminate you all."

With that he spun around, cackling as he boarded his ship along with his father and the plump alien, leaving King Vegeta to stammer incoherently. Then, the scene shifted and began showing short visions of other planets and enslaved races. The voice of Jinn once more began to narrate.

"From this moment onward, Lord Frieza ruled over the Saiyans and all other races with an iron fist, using them as he saw fit. He conquered thousands more during the next few years, sacrificing many Saiyan warriors in the process. He was soon feared throughout the universe as the most ruthless and powerful being. None dared challenge him."

Goku stared at the scenes silently, his face stoic. However, every time a scene showed another race being captured or slaughtered, his body tensed, and his knuckles cracked.

He was not the only one. Piccolo watched as alien race after alien race was conquered, reminding him of the conquering and slaughtering of his own people.

"Five years passed like this with little change in routine," Jinn continued, "That is until Lord Frieza got wind of a certain legend."

The landscape shifted again. The watchers found themselves in a spacecraft, slowly moving through space. They were near the control helm, where various alien races sat at the controls. Overlooking them all was Frieza, sitting in a floating throne. Beside him was the blue plump woman, still smiling creepily. Before him stood a yellow alien wearing white robes and talking to him with a nervous pitch in his voice.

"You see, my lord, our sources say that the Saiyan race believe in a legend known as the Super Saiyan. This legend apparently is very powerful and, to some Saiyan's, will be able to revolt against you!"

Frieza sat in his chair, considering this. Next to him, the plump woman spoke, her voice croaky.

"A Super Saiyan? We have no records of such a thing."

"It is only a legend," the yellow convoy urged, his eyes still fixed on Frieza, "Even the Saiyan's themselves, though they wish for it to come, know that it is only a legend. I believe there is no threat to your rule, Lord Frieza."

"No threat," Frieza repeated quietly. He glanced over at the woman.

"What are the statistics of some of our monkeys, Berryblue?"

Berryblue produced a small tablet and tapped it a few times.

"The Saiyan warriors have steadily risen up the ranks, becoming some of our most powerful units. They seem to improve each time they are sent out."  
Frieza narrowed his eyes. The convoy before him stepped back a few paces, feeling the malice emanating from the emperor.

"Berryblue," Frieza said quietly, "Give orders to set a course for Planet Vegeta. And send a message to all dispatched Saiyans that they are to report back to Planet Vegeta immediately."

Berryblue smile widened even more.

"Understood, my lord."

She floated away to give the orders, leaving Frieza to look out one of the ships windows, his face breaking into a sadistic grin.

"This legend… the Super Saiyan," he mused, "It is a perfect opportunity to get rid of the Saiyans… planet and all."

The scene dissolved as he broke into murderous laughter. Jinn's voice spoke once more.

"None of the Saiyans were aware that they were heading right to their graves. To them, though Frieza was a ruthless tyrant, there was no danger of them being exterminated. Not when they were some of his best troops."

Gohan watched sadly as the new scenes showed thousands of pods heading towards Planet Vegeta, all carrying Saiyans destined to die

"Not a single one knew?" he asked no one, "No one suspected?"

There was a quiet pause. Then Jinn spoke again.

"Well…, there was one."

The scene shifted and all the watchers gasped. The vision showed the inside of a pod and two Saiyan's sitting inside. They were both wearing battle armor, sporting Saiyan tails and wearing the updated scouters around their eyes. However, one of them had a hairstyle identical to Goku's, down to the last spiky bang. Even the face was eerily similar, though it was a bit gruffer and more had less smile wrinkles. This was clearly a battle worn veteran. Yet, the resemblance between him and Goku was uncanny.

Goku was lost for words as he watched his father and the Saiyan talk. He was so stunned and emotional that he almost missed what the two were saying.

"So Bardock," said the other Saiyan, smiling cheekily, "Why do you think Frieza want's us back at Planet Vegeta? Maybe he wants to personally thank all of us."

The Saiyan chuckled a little to himself, imaging his fantasy. Bardock, however, did not smile. Instead, he reached up and took off his scouter and placed it away. His partner took notice of this and looked at him curiously.

"Whatcha doin, Bardock?"

"Turning off my scouter so no one hears us," Bardock replied sternly, "I suggest you do the same."

The Saiyan stared at him for a second. He looked tempted to ask what was going on, but instead he just took off his own scouter. Once it was off, Bardock sighed and looked out the pods only window.

"I think there is something very fishy about all of this," he began, "This just isn't normal. Frieza would never order us all back to Planet Vegeta, let alone meet us there. It just isn't like him."

The Saiyan raised an eyebrow.

"Are you suggesting that there is a plot?"

Bardock nodded.

"Ever since a few years ago, we Saiyans have become some Frieza's best men, rising up the ranks faster than any other race. We grow more powerful after every encounter. I think this is beginning to worry Frieza. Especially if he has done some research."

"What do you mean by research?"

Bardock looked at his partner, his face deadly serious.

"If he knows about the legendary Super Saiyan, then he will have reason to worry that we are getting strong enough to overthrow him."

There was short pause. His partner did not want to ask the question on his mind, but he really had to know if Bardock was implying what he thought he was implying.

"Are you... saying that Frieza is… going to… kill us all?"

Bardock's silence was an answer in of itself. His grim face was the last thing the watchers saw of him before scene changed, Jinn's voice accompanying it.

"Unfortunately, Bardock, father of Kakarot, was correct in his suspicions. However, he would fail to warn the rest of his people about their impending doom."

The scene shifted one final time. It showed Frieza, floating in his throne above his spaceship, looking down upon Planet Vegeta. He silently raised his index finger up and a small ball of orange energy appeared, slowly growing larger until it dwarfed the emperor controlling it. Frieza paused for one final second before letting out a great roar of laughter as he sent the ball of death down towards the planet. It soared down and crashed into the surface, causing massive cracks to appear throughout the planet as the energy ball dug into it, slowly destroying it completely along with the millions of Saiyans that inhabited it.

The watchers all watched, speechless as Planet Vegeta ceased to exist, Frieza continuing to laugh all the while, his cold laughter piercing their brains. Thankfully, the sound soon cut out as the scene began to dissolve and Jinn started talking one final time.

"On that day, the Saiyan race was exterminated in one swift blow by Lord Frieza. That is, except for a select handful that were able to escape or somehow did not hear about the order to return to Planet Vegeta. Two of these survivors… are currently here, listening to me. One is Kakarot, also known as Goku, son of the low-class warrior Bardock. The other is Prince Vegeta, son of the proud King Vegeta. You two now face an enemy that dates back to when you were born. The only question is, can you defeat him? Unfortunately, I cannot tell the future, but I can say this much. It will not be an easy task."

With that, Jinn's voice faded away and the entire group found themselves back in Tai's living room, slightly shell shocked after the experience they went through. For a while, nobody spoke. Nobody even moved. On the coffee table, the Relic of Knowledge sat still, no longer glowing and no longer emitting the spirit of Jinn. It took nearly ten minutes before Tai shakily got to his feet.

"Well then…," he said hoarsely, "I think I need some sleep."

Beside him, Raven stood as well.

"Yes. I will go upstairs and wash up and meet you in our bedroom."

She left the room without another word, leaving Tai to gape after her. Qrow actually let out a weak chuckle.

"Well, if there is any good news, Tai is getting some action tonight."

Tai reddened brightly, rounding on Qrow.

"First of all, she's your sister and my ex-wife. Second of all, her tribe member just died before. Third of all, her entire tribe has been annihilated. Fourth of all, we just watched a psychopathic emperor exterminate an entire planet. Fifth of all-"

"So what?" Qrow said, waving him off, "That's exactly why she needs you. There was a reason she married you at one point. Maybe it's because she needed you. So why don't you make yourself useful again?"

Tai opened his mouth to retort but closed it just as quickly. He simply turned and walked out after Raven. Qrow sniggered, taking another swig from his flask before noticing no one else had moved. Not even the likes of Goku, Vegeta and Piccolo.

Qrow got up and headed out himself. He decided not to try and say anything to the others. Even his nieces. He knew that sometimes, people just needed to comprehend the situation before them. And a situation as dire as this would take some time.

"I just hope they get some sleep soon," he said to himself quietly, seating himself at the dining table in the kitchen, "They need to train tomorrow. Especially if they stand even the slimmest chance of saving our world from certain destruction."

* * *

Captain Ginyu awoke with a start. He jolted upward, nearly banging his against the doctor who was inspecting him.

"What! Where am I?! What is going!?"

"Calm down, Captain," the doctor urged quickly, "You are in the med bay at headquarters. You flew in a few hours ago barely conscious and blacked out once you landed. We took straight here to tend to your wounds and the missing arm."

Ginyu started to control his breathing, taking note of his surroundings. He indeed was in medical room. Medicine cabinets lined the walls and, on the counters, lay numerous tools for surgery. He also found himself sitting on an operation table.

"My arm," he started quickly, "Is there anything you can do?"

The doctor's glasses flashed, and he gave Ginyu a smug smile.

"Captain, if you look to your right, you will see your arm."

Ginyu, thoroughly confused, glanced over to his right. He gaped as his eyes fell on a large, synthetic arm laying on the table beside him. He also then noticed that his stump has been tended to and was covered by round steel attachment. As he stared in astonishment, the doctor moved to his right, lifting the synthetic arm up and holding it out to the Captain.

"Please behold your new and improved arm. We made sure to make proper measurements so to make it resemble to original perfectly. However, unlike the original, you will find this to be far more durable, powerful, and all around more useful. Now if I may-,"

The doctor leaned forward and carefully screwed the arm into the steel attachment on Ginyu's stump. It fit perfectly and the doctor stepped back, grinning broadly.

"Well, go on. Try it out."

Ginyu tried to move his arm and found, to his fascination, that the synthetic arm followed perfectly. It felt exactly like a real arm would. He smiled himself, twisting it around and waving his arm around. Then he tried something else. Concentrating hard, he channeled Ki energy to the synthetic arm. For a second, nothing happened. Then, he felt a ball of warmth tickle his palm. He looked to see that just above his synthetic arm, a small ball of energy had been summoned.

"This is incredible, doc!" he cried out, jumping off the operation table in his excitement. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that he was fully healed and could walk completely fine. The doctor pushed up his glasses, watching as Ginyu did a few punching motions with his new arm, marveling at how fast and accurately it responded.

"That is some of the best Atlas technology we have. Since Lord Frieza has control over Atlas, we were able to get many of their high-tech equipment, including this synthetic arm."

Captain Ginyu stopped mid-punch. In all his confusion about where he was and the excitement about his new arm, he hadn't even thought about Lord Frieza. He suddenly felt great anger at himself for not prioritizing and had half a mind to punch himself with his new arm.

"Lord Frieza," he said, his voice urgent, "Is he around?"

The doctor shifted nervously.

"Yes, he is up in the throne room. However, I would like to warn you that he is not in the best spirits. I don't know if you knew about this before you came back but blew up most Anima."

Ginyu vaguely remembered a massive explosion occurring behind him as he had flown back to the base. But he must have been too injured and tried to register it much at the time.

"I understand. Thank you for the info, doc. And thank you for the new arm. You will always be seen as a friend in the eyes of the Ginyu Force!"

With that, he did a flashy pose before heading out the door, leaving a very confused doctor.

Captain Ginyu proceeded to head up towards the throne room, taking an assortment of hallways and stairways. As he walked, his mind began traveling to other things, letting his legs guide him instinctively. He thought about what had happened at Haven, the humiliation at the hands of Prince Vegeta and how the Frieza Force had been beaten down. And then there was Adam Taurus.

Ginyu felt a small pang of regret as he thought about the bull faunus. He had truly seen some potential in him and had even thought that he had broken through and reached it. But it hadn't been enough. He had been beaten down easily and as a result, punished accordingly by Lord Frieza himself.

He stopped for a second and sighed. For the first time in a while, he felt like he had lost a teammate, a partner… a friend.

"Godspeed you bastard," he said quietly, "Godspeed."

He stood for a few more seconds. Then he shook himself. He could not get sappy right now. His main priority was serving Lord Frieza. Adam was dead because he had failed and that was that. He continued forward, pushing the sentimental thoughts away, though they lingered in the back of his head.

It took about another five minutes for Ginyu to reach the massive double doors leading to the throne room. As usual, there were two Frieza Soldiers guarding the doors. When they saw Ginyu, however, they stepped aside instantly.

"Good to see you back to full health, Captain Ginyu," one of them said in a professional tone, "Lord Frieza is inside. He said to let you in if you came around."

Ginyu nodded silently and pushed open the doors. At the end of the long room, Lord Frieza stood beside his throne, apparently deep in thought. Ginyu walked over, not saying anything until he reached him and bowed down.

"Lord Frieza!" he said, his usual flamboyance returning, "I am happy to see you in good health!"

Frieza did not respond. He just stared off into space, still thinking about something. Ginyu did not move, maintaining his bow until spoken to. After a few minutes, Frieza finally turned to him, as if only noticing him then.

"Ah, Captain Ginyu," he said, his tone as eloquent as ever, "I see you have made a full recovery and have acquired a new arm as well."

Ginyu smiled widely, showing off his synthetic arm.

"It is quite the improvement, my lord," he said gleefully, "But I am not important. What is our next move?"

Frieza scowled, turning away once more.

"Killing those filthy brats is my number one priority. Unfortunately, that little half-breed destroyed my only scouter, leaving me completely blind."

His fists tightened and for a few seconds, his power rose, shaking the surrounding area slightly. But he pushed it down quickly, though his face was still contorted into an ugly grimace.

"I have sent troops all around the world to search for them and report back immediately if they do find them. I am not planning to let them escape my grasp a second time."

Ginyu nodded vigorously.

"Yes, my lord! How do you wish for me to help?"

Frieza considered this for a second. Then he turned away from Ginyu and headed towards th throne, talking over his shoulder as he went.

"For now, I want you to get acquainted with that new arm of yours and strengthen yourself up. Your defeat at the hands of Vegeta should not be repeated."

Ginyu posed flamboyantly, crying out, "Yes, my lord!"

He proceeded to jog out of the throne room, leaving the emperor alone once more. Frieza sat in his throne, turning his thoughts back to what he was thinking before Ginyu came in. As he thought about it, his fists tightened around the arms of the throne and his scowl became deeper.

"The Legendary Super Saiyan," he muttered under his breath before slamming his tail against the back of the throne, "You vile pathetic monkeys! I will not allow you to reach such heights! You may have escaped last time, but next time…," his scowl morphed into a look of absolute blood lust.

"I will show you just how terrifying I can be."

* * *

 **As our heroes recover from their fight at Haven Academy, Lord Frieza prepares his next move. His soul goal is now eliminating our heroes from the picture, no matter the cost. Will our heroes be able to find a way to defeat him? Or will they join the many victims of his wrath? Find out next time on Dragon Ball R!  
**

 **Authors Note: Hello lads. Once again, I would like to apologize for the extreme lateness of this chapter. There really isn't much of an excuse except that I had a hard time coming up off ways to transition into basically the next part of the story. But even than it took too long. I also did some experimenting with the Afterlife thing; which I hope you do enjoy. Another thing I would like to say quickly is that there may be some questions concerning the Frieza/Saiyan story, mainly why Broly isn't mentioned. Quite simply, he isn't relevant to this story or even the question posed to Jinn in the first place. Other than though, if you have any other questions, please leave a review or PM me and I will be more than happy to answer them. With that being said, I hope you all enjoyed and I will see you in the next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Authors Note: Hello there! Welcome back to another chapter! First, I would like to apologize for the massive break between this chapter and the last. I was having trouble figuring out how to continue the story after the Battle of Haven and this chapter has gone through many rewrites before finally coming out. Unfortunately, with the college year about to start, these large gaps between chapters may become more common. However, I promise to keep this story running! As always, the support from everyone is very much appreciated and allows me to keep writing for you guys! Anyway, let's not waste any more time!**

 **Last time on Dragon Ball R, our heroes are recovering after narrowly escaping the wrath of Lord Frieza. As they regain their composure, they begin to formulate a plan to defeat Frieza by using the Relics to summon the gods. In addition, Ruby calls upon the Relic of Knowledge and asks the spirit about the dark past between the Saiyans and Frieza. Meanwhile, Salem is beginning to panic, unable to find a plausible way out of her predicament as Frieza continues to loom over Remnant, more terrifying than ever before. Is there really any way to stop the galactic overlord? Today: Training Resumes! A Wish for Immortality!**

* * *

The birds chirped cheerfully as dawn broke once more over the tree tops of Patch. The morning sun shined over the small isle, passing over the wooden house packed with people, slowly waking the residents up. Soon, sounds began coming from the kitchen as breakfast was cooked.

Ruby yawned loudly, stretching her arms out as she lifted herself into a sitting position. She smacked her lips, moistening her mouth a little and looked out her bedroom window. The morning sun shone through, bathing her room in a warm light. For a second, Ruby felt very content, believing everything was alright in the world. It was just another day for her at her small house.

Of course, she knew this to not be true. She only needed to listen to Vegeta downstairs barking at some unfortunate soul about something. She sighed and looked down, gripping her blanket tightly.

It had been a week since the battle at Haven Academy, the following destruction of Anima, and the interaction with the Relic of Knowledge. Since then, the gang had done their best to prepare themselves for the mission of retrieving the other Relics. This had included lots and lots of training.

Ruby winced slightly as a bruise on her arm, received during training that had not yet been healed by aura, throbbed. She did not know how, but the training at Mistral in preparation for the battle in Haven was borderline easy to the current regiment Goku and Vegeta were putting them through. Of course, she understood why. With Frieza's scouter destroyed, the evil emperor had no way of tracking their energy, allowing the Saiyan's, Piccolo and Krillin to use their KI powers freely. For the Huntsmen, this meant that their training now consisted of more dangerous attacks to defend themselves against. Many times, this week, Ruby had found herself running for her life as she avoided being incinerated by a volley of energy balls. Nora at one point said as they were running, and to which Ruby very much agreed with, that it was like playing a very deadly version of dodge ball. Except you can't through any balls back.

But that wasn't all that had changed in the training regime. When the Huntsmen weren't trying to be killed by their own friends, they were forced to face off against waves of terrifying Grimm. This idea had come from Raven, who had been staying away from the others during the day, only coming back at dusk to sleep. While she was out, she would encounter many Grimm, attracted by the negative tension permeating from their location. When she described them to Goku, the Saiyan decided to use the Grimm as training partners for the Huntsmen. On paper, this idea did not sound too bad to the Huntsmen. They were familiar with Grimm and, before their new friends had arrived to Remnant, had been trained solely to kill Grimm. But naturally, the Saiyan's had made it much harder for them. They would take the Huntsmen to the middle of the woods and leave them there for the whole day so they could fend off the Grimm by themselves without anywhere to retreat to. They would only come back to retrieve the Huntsmen at nightfall, not allowing Dende to heal any of the wounds they had sustained so their aura could improve. Needless to say, Ruby and the others began to dread the Grimm training just as much as the personal training.

Ruby sighed heavily once more. As much as she wanted to stay in bed and do nothing, she knew that another day of mandatory training lay ahead of her. There was really no point trying to resist it. Yang tried a few days ago, oversleeping and missing the assigned time to wake up. Ruby remembered how she had been eating breakfast that day to suddenly hear screaming and then Yang crashing through the roof and landing on the dining table, still dressed in her pajamas. Vegeta had punched the floor under Yang's bed, splintering it easily and letting the blonde fall down a floor the hard way. To add insult to injury, Yang was forced to rebuild her own room after training, meaning she had to lose sleep and work with aching wounds. After that incident, no one dared to skip out on training.

As Ruby pulled off the covers and swung her legs over to stand, a shadow appeared at her window. She blinked to see Goku floating outside her window, smiling cheerfully.

"Heya, Ruby! Sleep well?"

Ruby couldn't help grin a little. Despite everything that happened, Goku's friendly attitude was able to raise her spirits ever so slightly. It was hard to believe that the guy was their strongest asset in the fight against Frieza. Then again, all Ruby needed to see was him fight and train to remind herself why that was so.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said, heading to her drawer and looking for clothes. Goku chuckled a little.

"Well, get ready! We got another day of training ahead of us. I hope you are up to the task."

With that, the Saiyan flew away, leaving Ruby to change. As Ruby found the clothes she was looking for, her momentary happiness began to fade once more as the sight of Goku reminded her of something else. The tale that Jinn had told the group. It had left a massive impact on them all, from the visions of Frieza and his father strutting around the Saiyan planet to seeing the fathers of both Goku and Vegeta to the destruction of the planet at the hands of Frieza.

The night they had seen it, not much was said afterward. Everyone just retired for the night, letting their thoughts carry them to bed. Not until the next day did anyone speak about what they had seen. Ruby and the rest of the Huntsmen were in the dining room, taking the only break allowed during training (a maximum of five minutes). They had been nursing their bruises while grabbing a quick snack when Black had broached the subject, cautious as always.

"So… what did everyone think about the… well, story?"

There had been a short silence as everyone let their minds wonder back to what they had experienced. After a second, Yang spoke up.

"Pretty messed up, to say the least. I mean, I had heard some of it from Vegeta, but to actually see it…"

She didn't have to say anymore. The sight of Planet Vegeta being disintegrated had followed them into their dreams that night, causing many of them to wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Not just from the fact that an entire civilization had been wiped out, but because they were now supposed to stop the evil entity responsible from doing the same to Remnant. The only reason he hadn't done so yet was the want of killing Goku, Vegeta and the rest of them personally for his own satisfaction.

After another short pause, Weiss had spoken.

"I'm wondering what Goku and Vegeta are thinking after seeing that. Seeing their fathers and their race being destroyed like that… It can't be easy. Even for them."

That thought had crossed the Huntsmen's minds. But, the Saiyans in question had not spoken once about the vision. The day after, they had simply begun putting the Huntsmen through training. And if it was bothering them in anyway, they didn't show it at all. Krillin and Gohan occasionally gave them concerned glances and even Piccolo watched them, looking for any sign of distress. But the Saiyans did not exhibit as much as wince of anger, sadness or grief.

After the first day of training, Ruby recalled approaching Bulma, who had been preparing to go to sleep, and asked her about the Saiyan's behavior, knowing that she had at least known Goku for a very long time.

"I wouldn't be too concerned about it, Ruby," Bulma had said, seeing the worried expression on the Huntresses face, "While Goku can certainly seem like an emotional person at times, he knows when to keep them hidden. Besides, he knows that dwelling over what he saw would only get in the way of his training, which is basically his entire life. Well, other than food."

Bulma tried to crack a joke, but Ruby still looked concerned. The scientist noticed and smiled, putting a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Listen, there is nothing to worry about. Goku can take care of himself. And as for you, I would be more concerned about not being killed by him during training."

Ruby had left the subject hang at that, not bringing it up again since. It had soon been driven out of her mind as training became more rigorous and she found herself, like Bulma said, trying not to be killed. But every time she saw Goku's smile, she wondered what the Saiyan felt inside.

Ruby shook herself. If she kept dwelling on this, she would be late for morning training. She quickly pulled on her usual Huntress outfit, grabbed her weapon, Crescent Rose, from her desk and descended the stairs to the first floor.  
As she stepped off the last step onto the landing, she turned to see Jaune and Dende sitting cross legged together in the living room. They had their eyes closed as they faced each other and were holding out their hands. As Ruby watched, she saw light emanating from both pairs of hands.

Ever since their small fight, Jaune and Dende had moved past it. In fact, Jaune had come to Dende and asked for a favor. The Huntsmen had clearly wanted this favor to be a secret from the others, but Ruby and everyone else had found out by eavesdropping on his conversation with Dende, concerned that he was going to get angry at the small Namekian. Instead, they heard something quite surprising.

"I want to become more useful," Jaune had said, his voice carrying a serious edge, "I cannot stand just sitting on the sidelines anymore, watching as my friends get hurt and die."

"What can I do to help you with that?" Dende had asked, quite surprised to find Jaune asking him for help.

"I need something special. Something that can aid them in battle," Jaune explained, "And since I have yet to acquire a Semblance, I need to do it manually. I want to learn how to heal people, like you do."

Ruby and the other Huntsmen were just as shocked as Dende had been after hearing the request. It was common knowledge that Jaune felt that he was one of the weakest of the group, despite the progress he has made. But to learn how to heal like Dende? At the time, it had seemed quite implausible.

But Dende had agreed to Jaune's request and since then, the two had taken time before and after training to practice. And, to the great surprise of everyone, Jaune was actually being quite successful. With Dende's help, he had manipulated his aura into energy similar to the one Dende uses for healing. At the moment, he was able to heal small wounds and bruises with ease. In many ways, it seemed Jaune had finally found his Semblance.

Ruby watched the two for a few more seconds, smiling a little to herself. She always really liked Jaune and always felt that things never seemed to go well for him. To see him now, learning something as complex as healing in such a short amount of time warmed Ruby's heart as much as anything.

She left the two with their practicing, making her way to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast before training began. She entered the kitchen to find Ren and Nora there already, the former flipping pancakes over the stove. Ren was notorious for his fantastic pancakes and Nora was just as notorious with her love of them. Ruby had once seen Nora eat three stacks of ten pancakes within the span of just five minutes. It had been quite the unreal sight.

The two noticed Ruby come in and smiled at her.

"Morning," Ren said calmly, flipping a pancake and keeping a wary eye on Nora, "You are here just in time. Want a pancake?"

"Yes please," Ruby said, grabbing a plate from the cupboard, "I have only been able to eat toast in the morning for the past few days."

"You need to wake up earlier," Nora tutted, her eyes on the pancakes, "Then you would have enough time to make something really good for yourself."

"Earlier than now? It's six-thirty in the morning," Ruby said raising an eyebrow in Nora's direction, "Besides, do you actually wake up earlier than I do, Nora?"

Before Nora could answer, Ren said, "Not really. She only wakes up once I'm up and heading downstairs. If she was on her own, I doubt she would ever be able to wake up on time without Vegeta's help."

Nora pouted and Ruby laughed. The one thing that she was very grateful for was that despite everything that happened, people around were still able to keep their sense of humor.

She took her pancake and headed to the small dining room. On her way, she passed by Qrow holding his usual flask and looking to get inside the kitchen.

"Heya kiddo," he said grinning down at her, "Ready for another round in hell?"

Ruby shook her head chuckling.

"As ready as I will ever be," she then eyed the flask in his hand, "Are you getting more booze from the kitchen, Uncle Qrow?"

He quickly tried to hide the flask behind him, looking sheepish. Ever since the Battle of Haven, the veteran Huntsman had been drinking himself to sleep every night. He claimed to be fine, but there was growing concern about how much he was drinking. Even the stoic Piccolo had inquired about the behavior, going as far as to offer him a meditation session.

"Look kiddo," Qrow began, his voice slightly slurred, "When you get to be my age, you will start to see the value in this stuff and…"

He trailed off and suddenly lost his footing. Ruby jumped to help, but he motioned her to relax, using the doorframe to hold himself up. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but Ruby was not fooled.

"Uncle Qrow," she said, her voice filled with concern, "Please stop. Please. Get some real sleep for once. I can't watch you do this to yourself."

Qrow opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. Instead he let out a large sigh and propped himself back up. He looked at the flask in his hand for a second. Then he pulled back his arm and threw it across the room. It crashed through a window and fell outside. Qrow smiled, and Ruby saw his body relax.

"I think I will take your advice, kiddo," he said.

He patted her on the head before walking towards the staircase. As he did so, Ruby heard him mutter, "I may take up Piccolo on his offer after all."

Ruby smiled, feeling quite pleased with herself. It had been a real struggle this week to convince her uncle to stop. This was a real victory for her. With a new sense of happiness, Ruby took her pancake and headed into the dining room.

Sitting around the dining table, she found the likes of Oscar, Bulma, and Neo. She greeted them cheerfully, taking the last remaining seat and digging into her pancake.

Oscar was inspecting his cane, seemingly lost in thought. The boy hadn't spoken much during the past week, mostly just going with the grueling training sessions put forth by the Saiyan's. It was incredible to Ruby that he was even able to do them without the former Huntsmen training she and her other friends had. But of course, he did have the help of a very powerful spirit within him. Ozpin had also not come out much, only doing so to talk about the plans for retrieving the Relics. Ruby was pretty sure that Oscar and Ozpin were spending far more time talking with each other than anyone else. It would explain why whenever she saw Oscar outside of training, he looked like he was spacing out.

Next to him, Bulma and Neo vastly contrasted his quite nature, talking animatedly with each other as Bulma tinkered with the Relic Radar on the table. The blue haired scientist had taken to doing this every day, trying to improve the device as much as she could before the mission began, claiming that she could make it more precise in locating the Relics.

As for Neo, she had simply been enjoying herself with Bulma and the Huntsmen. It was strange to think that just a short while ago, the young woman had been a dangerous enemy of Ruby's. Now, she was a powerful ally, training alongside them to get revenge for her old companion, Roman Torchwick.

As Ruby ate her pancake, she listened quietly to Bulma's techno babble as she explained the workings of the Relic Radar to Neo, who was nodding at every word enthusiastically. Ruby wasn't sure if Neo understood anything that Bulma was saying (she certainly couldn't herself) but she was content to see the two chumming around like old friends.

Ruby finished her pancake and stood up, taking her plate. She hated to interrupt the two friends, but she didn't want Neo getting in trouble for being late for training. She gestured to the woman.

"You coming? Training is about to start, and I don't think you want Vegeta getting on your case."

Neo sighed, but nodded smiling. She gave Bulma an affectionate hug before standing up and heading for the door. Ruby was about to follow but she then turned back, realizing that Oscar had not moved from his seat. He was still looking intently at his cane, completely oblivious to the outside world.

"Oscar?" Ruby called, "Oscar? You there? We need to go to training."

For a moment, Oscar still didn't move. Ruby was about to call out again, ready to go over and shake him, but he slowly looked over her, his eyes focusing on her. He suddenly yelped and tumbled off his chair.

"Oscar!" Ruby and Bulma exclaimed, rushing over to his side. The boy rubbed the back of his head, groaning quietly.

"Sorry about that," he said, accepting a hand from Ruby and helped himself back up, "I was so focused on something that I completely lost myself for a moment there."

He smiled sadly, dusting himself off and picking up his cane. Ruby smiled at him, taking his hand gently.

"You have been like this for the past week. You know that you can talk to us, right?"

Oscar sighed.

"Yeah I know. It's just… difficult. Ozpin is always speaking in my head, trying to strategize our next move and I get so involved in it."

Bulma patted him on the back.

"I get that feeling. Whenever I'm working on a really tough project, I always retreat within myself and concentrate everything I have into completing the project. But," she said, jabbing a finger in Oscar's chest, "You can't just lock yourself up in your own mind. It's not healthy. Especially in times like these."

Oscar nodded, taking in her words.

"Yeah, you got a point. Thanks," he then turned to Ruby, "Let's get going."

Ruby nodded and they headed to the door. As they exited, Ruby took a second to look back at Bulma and smile at her. Bulma smiled right back, giving her a thumbs up.

Outside, the warm weather enveloped Ruby, making her feel blissfully comfortable. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine that she was still lying in bed, wrapped in her blankets. She mentally shook herself. This was not the time to lose her focus.

Everyone was waiting outside. Ren, Nora and Jaune were stretching together, talking as they prepared for another hard day of training. Weiss was inspecting her rapier, making sure it was loaded with the appropriate Dust vials. Blake and Sun were conversing with Piccolo, and though Ruby couldn't hear all of it, she distinctly heard Sun ask if they were going to have to wear weighted armor like Piccolo did while training. Ruby hoped to herself that the answer would be no, but she knew it was very possible.

On the border of the Xiao Long property, Ruby saw Goku and Vegeta standing calmly, watching their trainees prepare themselves. Beside them was Gohan and Krillin who waved at her happily. Ruby and Oscar headed towards them, the others around them joining shortly after and they all stood before the two Saiyans, ready to hear the training regime for today. Goku was all smiles as looked over the Huntsmen, clearly excited to start training. Vegeta wore his usual scowl and it deepened as he noticed something in the lineup before him.

"Where is Yang?" he growled.

Goku blinked, looking over the Huntsmen once more to find that, indeed, the blonde brawler was not present. Ruby groaned, wondering if Yang had once more tried to skip out on training.

Vegeta began walking towards the house, his anger palpable. But before he could take more than four steps, the door opened and Yang rushed out, sprinting towards them. Behind her, Ruby could see her father, Taiyang, standing in the doorway, looking a bit flustered.

"Sorry… about… that…," Yang panted, reaching the group and giving Vegeta a nervous smile, "I was just taking care of something."

Vegeta grumbled but said nothing and returned to his spot alongside Goku, Piccolo, Krillin and Gohan. Goku grinned widely.

"Alright guys! Now that we are all here, let's get started!"

The Huntsmen all braced themselves, ready to hear what hell they were going to work through. Goku seemed to notice and chuckled lightheartedly.

"Now don't be like that! You guys are going to be fine. You have already improved so much over the last week! And besides," his tone suddenly became serious and the Huntsmen all noticed his eyes grow hard.

"You guys need to get stronger as fast as you can. Otherwise, this world will be doomed to fall under Frieza. I know this has been hard for you guys, but just think about what you are training for. Think about what you are trying to save. Think about what you have already lost."

He paused. The warm air seemed to drop a few degrees. The slight breeze that blew past them seemed to grow stronger and within it, there seemed to be the sound of cruel laughter.

Goku looked up once more at the Huntsmen, his face grave.

"You must keep going. Fight through it all. We will be beside you the whole time."

Gohan and Krillin nodded, their faces just as grave. Piccolo and Vegeta didn't move, but their faces showed the determination within them.

Seeing all this, Ruby suddenly let go of all her worries about training. She realized them to be silly and a burden to her when far greater concerns were on the horizon. She stepped up and readied her weapon.

"Right!" she yelled, her voice filled with confidence, "What's our assignment today, Goku?"

Goku smiled at her, his face glowing with pride. Behind Ruby, the others readied themselves, this time ready to face their training head on.

"That's the spirit," Goku said. He turned and gestured behind him at the woods. As if on que, the bushes rustled and Raven suddenly jumped out, panting slightly. She faced Goku, her read eyes glaring up at him.

"I rounded up a nice horde for you," she said icily, "I think it will be enough to keep your little apprentices busy for a whole day."

Goku grinned happily.

"Excellent! Thanks for the help, Raven."

She didn't respond. She just walked past him and the Huntsman, not giving any of them a single look. Yang scoffed audibly, but she too did not say anything to her mother. The relationship between the two was still noticeably tense, though to be fair, Raven had been spending little time anybody. Well, except for maybe Taiyang.

After Raven left, attention turned back to Goku, who was still smiling. The Huntsmen didn't need to ask what he had asked Raven to gather a "horde" of. It was pretty obvious they were about to be fighting some nasty creatures.

Piccolo cleared his throat.

"The aim of today's exercise," he began, pointing towards the woods, "Is to make sure you can withstand being attacked when you are in a dense area. You guys are going to go deep into the woods and encounter a large amount of Grimm. The limited space in the woods will make it harder for you to use some of your usual attacks. You must adjust yourself and use the environment to your advantage. In addition, we will not be extracting you this time, so you have to find your way back here on your own once you have defeated the horde."

Vegeta grunted.

"Don't you dare run back here too soon. You must defeat every damn Grimm in there before you come back. If you get lost and can't find your way back, that's your own fault. Don't expect us to come and get you."

The group of Huntsmen took a collective gulp. Vegeta had a tendency to completely destroy any confidence they had going into training. Goku chuckled a little seeing them quaver.

"Don't let him get to you. Just do your best out there. You guys are far more powerful than you believe."

They nodded nervously. Goku, Piccolo, Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta stepped aside, allowing the group to step forward. Gohan and Krillin game them reassuring smiles as they passed, wishing them luck. Piccolo said nothing, but a small smile played on his lips. Vegeta simply scowled and barked impatiently, "Get going already!"

With that, Ruby and her friends gripped their weapons and charged into the brush. Their surroundings quickly began to darken as the trees above them blocked the warm sunlight above. A silence fell upon them, only broken by the rustling of bushes and snapping of twigs as they ran through the woods.

"We should stick together!" Weiss yelled, "We can't afford to be split up with so much Grimm in the area."

The others all voiced their agreement. They began to bunch up closer, not slowing down but making sure they could see each other through the dense trees and bushes. Ruby was beginning to feel quite confident. Being alongside her friends was always comforting and it made the prospect of fighting Grimm far more enjoyable.

Of course, she regretted letting her guard down. As they ran, a sudden noise from above caught their attention. They looked just in time to see an orange KI blast rocketing towards them. Yelling surprise, everyone dived to the side, evading the attack as it blasted a hole into the forest floor.

"What the hell?!" Yang roared, her eyes going from lilac to red, "Why are they attacking us?"

Before anyone could answer, they heard the approaching sound of more KI blasts heading their way. With no time to consult each other, everyone scattered in different directions as they KI blasts continued to bombard them.

Ruby tore through the forest, hearing the sounds of explosions behind her and hoping that they would stay behind her. All her confidence had been swept away, overtaken by terror as she hoped that she wouldn't be vaporized.

After what seemed hours, though it had only been a few minutes, the explosions subsided. The quiet that followed rang in Ruby's ears as she stopped running and caught her breath. As she did so, she chuckled a little to herself and chided herself for thinking it would be so easy. Of course, they would send them off with a scare.

She straightened up and looked around. It was at that moment that she realized what had really been the goal of the attack. There wasn't a single other Huntsmen in sight. She was completely alone and, since she had not been really paying attention as she ran, very lost.

"Oh great," she whispered to herself, "How can this get any worse?"

A low growling behind her interrupted her thoughts. Whirling around, Ruby found herself face to face with a group of four-legged dog like Grimm. Beowolves.

Ruby backed away slightly, gripping her weapon and taking an offensive stance. The Beowolves continued to advance, growling and snarling at her, showing off their deadly sharp teeth. However, Ruby stood her ground. She took a deep breath in and paused for a second. In that second, the first Grimm leaped at her, jaws agape, ready to tear her head off. In an instant, she spun her scythe in an arc. The head of the Beowolf fell to the ground, detached from its body. The other Grimm faltered for a second and in that second of hesitation, Ruby struck again. She jumped forward with inhuman like speed, landing in the center of the pack. She tightened her hold on her scythe and spun around in a circle, allowing the weapon to cut all the Beowolves in half in a deadly spin attack.

Ruby let out an exhale and straightened up, watching as the remains of the pack of Grimm began to dissolve in the wind. Before she had time to relax, however, she felt the ground shake as something began to come towards her. She turned to see a large bear like Grimm stomping through the bushes, its glowing red eyes fixed onto her. An Ursa.

There had been a time when a Ursa would be cause for massive concern for Ruby. They were formidable Grimm, as strong as they were tough. They were responsible for the most rookie Huntsmen deaths and as such, were seen as a final challenge for beginners.

But now, Ruby simply faced the hulking creature, focusing her aura into her arms. As it lumbered closer, she suddenly crouched down and shot forward straight towards the Ursa. Before the Grimm could so much as begin attacking, Ruby sped right past it, her scythe slicing it through the stomach in one go. The Ursa let out one last roar of surprise before dissolving into black dust.

Ruby looked back at it calmly, relaxing her aura. It had been a trick that had been taught during training. Goku had wanted them to improve their overall power and had come up with the idea of using their aura as an enhancer to certain areas of the body when needed.

"It's like when we focus our KI into our hands to perform energy attacks," he had said to them, "If you focus your energy in spot, you can make it far more powerful."

Ruby smiled a little to herself, turning away from the Ursa's remains. As she did so, the bushes around her rustled and red eyes glared at her as more Grimm began to emerge, snarling menacingly. However, Ruby did not lose her smile. Instead she, pulled her red hood over her head, twirled Crescent Rose in her hand and faced the oncoming Grimm, grinning in excitement. There was no more fear.

* * *

Weiss leaned against a large tree, panting. She was sure that the volley of KI attacks had been done to separate her from her friends, but that didn't stop her from peeking constantly at the sky, waiting for another energy ball to flying towards her.

"Those Saiyans!" she thought to herself angrily, "They just have to make us run for our lives!"

She ranted to herself for a few minutes as she leaned against the tree, catching her breath. When she was satisfied with herself, she got off the tree and took a look around. As she expected, there was no one else in sight.

"Great. Just as I say that we need to stick together, we all get separated," she muttered to herself bitterly.

She began to walk through the woods, her rapier out at the ready. Now that she was alone, the atmosphere around her had become far more tense. She never would admit it aloud, but she deeply appreciated the company of her friends. They had a way of making any situation far more bearable for her and it comforted her to know that she had people supporting her. But now, she did not have any of that support.

As these thoughts crossed her mind, she heard the growling of a nearby Grimm. She looked to find the source and her eyes quickly fell upon a rounded back poking out of the bushes. As Weiss watched, readying herself, a black boar with white tusks emerged, snorting out angrily. Weiss recognized it all too well as a Boarbatusk. She had had run ins with this particular Grimm many times and had once even used her Semblance to summon the image of one during her father's dinner party.

It pawed glared at her, pawing the ground in preparation to charge. Weiss steadied herself, careful to not let her nerves unbalance her.

"This is just a simple Boarbatusk," she told herself, "I was able to take out one of these when I was still in Beacon."

The Grimm snorted once more before suddenly launching forward. As it did so, it curled itself into a ball and rolled towards Weiss. She didn't move for a moment, waiting for it to get closer. Just as it was about run her over, she darted to the side and stuck her rapier straight into the rolling Grimm. It sunk right in, causing the Boarbatusk to squeal in pain and slow down. The momentum almost took Weiss off her feet, but she planted them firmly and withdrew her arm quickly in one swift motion. She massaged her shoulder, watching the Grimm give one more squeal before dissolving away.

For a few moments, Weiss felt pretty pleased with herself. She didn't find killing Grimm enjoyable, but she did enjoy when she was able to dispatch of them quickly and comfortably. She wasn't given too much time to do so before more rustling came from behind her. Startled, she turned quickly in time to see four Beowolves leap from the brush towards her.

In that moment, time seemed to slow down for Weiss. She saw the four large dog like Grimm in mid leap, ready to tear her apart. She wanted to back away, but her mind told her it was too late to do so. She could try to slash them in half, but she wouldn't be able to get all four of them in one strike.

As she debated with herself, another idea came to mind. Something that she had not yet tried in a serious situation.

"No, I can't," she told herself, "I'm not ready."

But as she watched the Beowolves near her, drooling mouths open and teeth shining, she knew she needed to try.

She closed her eyes and concentrated hard, summoning her aura towards her weapon. With her thumb, she spun the Dust cartridges around, selecting a random one. Just as the Beowolves were about to land on her, she released her aura outward into her rapier. A massive burst of energy emitted from the tip of the weapon, engulfing and vaporizing the oncoming Grimm. Weiss was blown off her feet and she flew back a few yards before landing on the ground.

She lay there speechless, trying to comprehend what she had just done. It took her a few seconds but then it came back to her. She had used something that she had been taught during training earlier this week.

They had been practicing dodging by evading KI blasts from Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin. It had been a very stressful exercise with each move having to be carefully thought out under pressure. During that day's five-minute break, Weiss had decided to practice a little with her weapon. After having to dodge deadly energy balls for hours, she needed to fell strong again and holding her rapier always helped her do so.

She had been doing some basic slashes and lunges before using the fire Dust in her cartridge to fire off a small ball of fire. She had been about to continue when a voice suddenly spoke up behind her.

"What are you doing, girl?"

Weiss had turned in dismay to see Vegeta glaring at her. She hadn't noticed him come outside and watch her for the past few minutes.

"Uh…ummm," Weiss had stuttered at the time, unsure of how to answer.

Vegeta had been silent for a few moments. Then he approached her and said gruffly, "Fire that fire ball again."

Weiss was perplexed, not quite understanding what he was getting at. But she knew that disobeying him would not be beneficial to her health. She chose the fire Dust cartridge again and pointed her rapier up again and let off another ball of flame.

She turned to Vegeta, wondering what he was going to say next. The Saiyan Prince was quiet for a moment. Then he looked at her and said flatly, "Now try drawing from your aura and apply it to your weapon."

Weiss blinked.

"What?"

Vegeta scowled at her.

"Did I stutter? Focus your aura into your weapon! Come on, girl!"

Weiss grimaced in annoyance but did not talk back in fear of the repercussions. Instead, she focused her aura into her weapon just like Vegeta had instructed. She felt the power flow through her arms into the weapon, causing it to shimmer slightly. Then she once again fired a Dust shot.

There was enormous "BANG" and a massive ball of fiery energy exploded from the tip of Weiss's rapier. She shrieked as the momentum caused her to fall over and drop her weapon. Vegeta watched quietly as the massive fire ball smashed into a few nearby trees and burned them to smolders.

Behind them, the doors to the house flew open as everyone rushed out to see what all the commotion was. They were shocked to find a shaken Weiss and a calm Vegeta facing a currently burning section of forest.

Ever since then, Vegeta had told Weiss to practice using her aura to power up her weapon every night to become adapted to it.

"With the amount of aura you have," he had said, "You have the potential to fire off many of those types of attacks. However, you need to get used to using it or you will not be able to handle it more than once."

Now, deep in the Grimm infested woods, Weiss reflected back on what he said. She had followed his instructions and practiced, but she still felt it took up lots of her aura. But now, after using it on a pack off Beowolves, she felt… surprisingly fine. She still felt energized and got up without any trouble, dusting her white battle skirt off. She looked down at her weapon and despite where she was, she grinned a little.

"I guess that smug prince may been on to something," she said to herself quietly.

Her thoughts were interrupted as more Grimm began to approach. She cleared her head, spun her cartridges and stood up straight, ready to do battle.

* * *

Blake jumped from branch to branch, keeping her distance from the ground below. It had been a few minutes since the KI volley that had scattered, she and her friends and she was hoping that she could locate at least one person. But as she kept going from tree to tree, she began to realize that her chances of finding someone in these dense woods was unlikely.

She leaped onto a large oak and stopped for a second and getting her bearings. She was thoroughly lost and could not locate the Xiao Long property from the tree top. Which meant she was all on her own now.

"What to do now?" she pondered, looking about her. Obviously, she knew her objective was to fight a horde of Grimm before finding her way back to the house. But how to go about it?

For a fleeting moment, Blake thought of simply moving between trees throughout the day before finding her way back, avoiding any conflict. But the moment she thought of it, she dismissed it angrily.

"I will not run away again," she told herself sternly.

It had been hard for her to interact with her old teammates during the past week. It was the first time she was spending time with them since the fall of Beacon and she had run away from that predicament, leaving the others behind. Of course, they had moved past it, happy to see that was still alive and well. However, Blake still remembered how Yang had yelled at her when they had escaped Frieza. It still hadn't left her mind, causing her to be even more distant with them and choosing to spend most of her time either alone or in the company of either Sun or Piccolo.

Blake sighed, leaning against the tree. She was going to get nowhere if she kept sulking about her past mistakes. There were other things that were more important right now.

She stood up and turned to leap from the tree she was standing on when she came nose to nose with a white bug like face. She shrieked in terror, instinctively jumping back into open space and suddenly found herself falling down towards the forest floor. In the spur of the moment, Blake began composing herself, bracing her aura. She crashed into a thicket and came to a stop halfway into the bushes. Blake struggled to untangle herself, cursing in annoyance as branches scratched her before she finally got herself free and fell to the forest floor, panting heavily. Despite the long fall, she was almost completely unharmed, having used her aura to protect her. But it had still been quite the shock and Blake could feel her heart still pounding against her chest as she carefully rose.

Then, from above, Blake heard a series of buzzing sounds, growing louder by the second. She looked up just in time to jump out of the way as a large wasp looking Grimm slammed into the ground where she had just been standing. As it tried to unstick itself from the forest floor, a couple of others flew over him and charged straight toward Blake.

Blake reached behind her and unsheathed her black katana, using one hand to wield it and the other to use the gun disguised as a sheathe. As the first wasp Grimm (Blake identified it as a Lancer) approached, she raised her gun and fired a volley of shots at its head. They connected but glanced off harmlessly the pale white bony plates covering the head. The Lancer, unperturbed, kept coming and showed off its long stinger before shooting it out towards Blake. Right before it hit her, she jumped up and activated her Semblance, leaving her clone below to be impaled by the stinger. As the Lancer paused, confused, Blake fell in a neat arc and slashed her katana through its midriff, cutting the bony plates like butter. The Grimm shrieked, dissolving around Blake as she straightened up and faced the other Lancers, her confidence building.

The other Grimm balked slightly, clearly concerned about what had just happened to their companion. The one that implanted itself into the ground had finally gotten unstuck and was now flying beside its kin, also unsure of how to proceed. Blake didn't move either, watching the Lancers quietly and waiting for them to attack.

"As long as I play it safe and don't rush in widely, these overgrown wasps should be no problem," she thought to herself.

Suddenly, she heard more buzzing coming towards her. Startled, she whipped around to see another pack of Lancers flying between the trees, their eyes locked onto her. They encircled her along with the pack she had been fighting before and Blake all of a sudden found herself surrounded on all sides. She looked for a possible escape route, but there was no way to get past without having to get past one of the Grimm.

Her hands began to shake as panic set in. She was well accustomed to being in tough situations before, but she usually had some sort of backup with her. Now, she was completely alone, ready to be skewered from multiple Lancers.

"Think!" she screamed in her head, "There must be something I can do to get out of this! Something!"

Just as her confidence began to fade and the Lancers advanced, an idea did surface. Something she had just learned a few days ago.

With no other options left, Blake concentrated all her aura within herself and then activated her Semblance once more. Like always, a shadowy clone materialized where she stood, ready to act as a decoy. But as the Grimm began to attack, firing their stingers in unison, both Blake and the clone began to slash their katanas, deflecting the stingers away together. Before the Lancers had time to realize what had happened, Blake and her clone lunged forward, sinking their katanas into two of the Grimm, killing them instantly. Together, with cat-like speed and acrobatics, they began to jump from one Lancer to another, slicing through their weaker joints. Within just a minute, Blake and her clone were knee deep in a pile of black dust. Blake panted heavily, looking around her in awe, wondering if she had actually just pulled it off. Beside her, the shadow clone flickered before fading away entirely. Blake watched it go silently, her mind wondering back to how she had come to learn this trick.

It had been during a day of harsh training with their other worldly friends. The objective had been to train using their Semblances to both and improve on them and to practice using large amounts of aura. They had started by first displaying them so that their instructors could get a sense of what they were working with.

Blake had been one of the last ones to go and when it had come to be her turn, she activated her Semblance and produced the usual shadow clone. For a few seconds, there had been silence. Then, Vegeta, his scowl deepening had asked, "Is that all?"

"Umm," Blake murmured, finding it hard to respond under the Prince's harsh gaze, "It's… supposed to be a… decoy of sorts. But I can also use it to boost me and-"

She was interrupted as Vegeta punched through the clone in a blink of an eye. She started back, scared that she had done something wrong. Vegeta turned away from her and walked on, yelling behind him, "An ability like that is both cowardly and completely useless! I have no interest in dedicating my time towards it!"

Blake was absolutely stunned. She hadn't been the only one. As she stood there, unable to respond, her friends all glared daggers at Vegeta. Sun had even gone so far as to storm over to the proud Saiyan, his weapon in hand.

"You smug bastard!" he roared, "You take that back right now!"

Vegete wheeled around and for a split second, Blake was convinced that Sun was about to be killed. But before any rash actions could be done on either side, Goku intervened, putting a hand on Vegeta's and Sun's shoulders.

"Alright guys," he said calmly, "Let's step back a bit. I'm sure Vegeta didn't mean what he said."

Vegeta grunted, shaking off Goku's shoulder angrily.

"Shut it, Kakarot! That girl's ability is just a method of running away from a fight!"

Blake lowered her head, feeling a stinging in her eyes as Vegeta voiced the exact thing that had been plaguing her for so long.

A few of the other Huntsmen had begun to join Sun, including Yang, cracking her knuckles menacingly. But before they could do anything, Piccolo stepped up, glowering down at Vegeta.

"Even now you only seem to enjoy belittling everyone, Vegeta," the Namekian said coolly, "Tell me, how did you fare against Frieza when it was your time to shine?"

A dead silence had fallen over the group. Everyone watched, terrified, as Vegeta slowly turned to face the Namekian, his face gaunt with rage.

"Oh?" Vegeta asked, his voice carrying a murderous tone, "Do you want to die right here, green man?"

Piccolo grunted, taking up a fighting stance. Vegeta did the same and they stood there, facing each other in a tense standoff.

"STOP IT!"

Blake, who couldn't take it any longer, raised her voice at the two. They turned to look at her and Blake suddenly felt that she was in severe danger of being blasted away. But then, another voice spoke up.

"Um, if I may, I think we can do something to improve Blake's Semblance and make it… more offensive based."

Everyone watched as Krillin walked up casually to Blake, ignoring the dark glares from Vegeta and Piccolo. He stopped in front of her, giving her a friendly smile.

"Now, there is no guarantee that this will work," he warned, "But it's worth a shot."

He then closed his eyes and in the next second, he suddenly multiplied. Blake gaped as three Krillins open their eyes and smiled up at her.

"This is what I call the Tri-form technique," the three identical Krillins said in unison, "By concentrating my KI, I can split my energy into three separate beings. It's very useful in situations where there are loads of enemies and when you need to overwhelm a single opponent. The only drawback is that this does split your power into three, meaning that each clone is only a third of the power as you are on your own."

He concentrated once more, and his two other forms slid back into him. Blake was certainly impressed with the ability, but she didn't quite understand why Krillin was showing her. As if reading her thoughts, Krillin grinned.

"So now, I want you to try and concentrate your aura within and gather a large amount. Once you have done that, activate your Semblance. What I'm hoping will happen is that your aura will transfer into your clone and give it the energy to fight on its own."

Blake was a bit skeptical about this idea, but it wasn't like she would lose anything by trying. With everyone watching closely, she closed her eyes and gathered as much as aura as she could. Once she felt like she had gathered a large amount, she activated her Semblance. Just like before, her clone appeared before her and did nothing. Blake's heart sank. But Krillin was still smiling.

"Great! Now try attacking me."

Blake looked up, surprised by the request. Krillin gestured to himself, his grin not fading in the slightest. Blake hesitated, wondering if there was even a point in doing this. But then she noticed Piccolo watching behind Krillin with everyone else. He nodded to her, sending a clear message.

Unsheathing her weapon, Blake lunged forward towards the monk and did a simple side slash. Following her movements, her shadow clone did the same, attacking alongside her. Krillin dodged out of the way, his smile wider than ever.

"Perfect! Haha, my idea actually worked."

He scatched the back of his head sheepishly as Blake inspected her shadow clone, stunned at seeing it attack. However, as she stood there marveling, she felt a sudden wave of exhaustion hit her and she fell to her knees, sweating all over.

"Woah there!" Krillin said coming to her, followed by Sun and the rest of the Huntsmen. She felt drained and faint, but she smiled slightly as her friends grinned down at her happily. Yang reached down, offering her a hand which she accepted and got to her feet. She then turned to look at Krillin once more.

"That takes up a lot of energy," she said, "But in that moment, it felt so good."

Krillin gave her a thumbs up.

"Yep! With energy, you will just need to practice with your aura, and it should become easier. I don't know if you can summon more than one clone, but even if you can, I would stick with just the one for now."

Blake nodded in agreement.

"Thanks. Really, thanks so much, Krillin."

"Ah it was nothing," he said cheerfully, "Honestly, I wouldn't have thought of it if Goku and Vegeta hadn't figured out that you can use the aura guys have to power up certain things."

After that day, Blake had practiced every night using her Semblance while applying aura to it, determined to make it her own and have enough energy to comfortably use it. Now, standing in the forest and surrounded by the dust of several Lancer's, she glanced at her shadow clone. She smiled, realizing just how far she had come.

Buzzing sounds interrupted her happy moment. She turned to see another pack of Lancers on their way, ready to avenge their fallen comrades. She gave her clone one last glance before charging forward, her clone following like a shadow. No more running away.

* * *

"I'm gonna strangle that Prince when I see him again!"

Yang angrily pushed a tree branch out of the way as she tried to find someone after being separated by the volley of KI blasts. She was quite convinced that Vegeta had been behind them. None of the others would be so forceful as him.

It had been nearly an hour since and Yang had so far only encountered one or two lone Beowolves that fell really easily. She was beginning to get very bored, walking around the woods aimlessly without much of anything happening. However, it did give her time to think about some things without anyone around.

For her, these past few weeks since Vegeta had first crashed through her bedroom roof has felt like an entire lifetime for her. In such a short amount of time, her entire perspective on so many things such as power, evil, ambition and even grief had changed so much. But most of all, she had a whole new respect for the value of peace.

Of course, she had always cared about the wellbeing's of others, especially her friends. It had been part of the reason she had decided to become a Huntress in the first place. But when she heard stories of the Great War that had occurred on Remnant long before, she had never taken them completely seriously, thinking of them as just cool stories for kids to listen to. She never fully understood what effects war had, even many years later.

That all changed when she saw the carnage caused by Frieza. A single evil was responsible for wiping out literally millions of people in Remnant and destroying parts of the world that had been there for hundreds of thousands of years.

What scared Yang the most wasn't the body count or the power that Frieza had. It was that, if they somehow survived this whole ordeal, the Remnant she had grown up in would never be the same. Not just physically but mentally. People would have to move on somehow, rebuilding what they could and salvaging as much as they could. There would be little enjoyment, all stifled by the heavy grief that would linger on for years as people mourned and built memorials for their loved ones. It would be a life devoted to rebuilding something that was ruthlessly destroyed.

"Damn," Yang whispered to herself, pushing past some more branches, "That's one depressing thought. Maybe this is how Getes feels all the time."

As this crossed her mind, a loud roar erupted from nearby. Cocking her gauntlets, Yang poised herself for a fight, looking in the direction of the roar. She could hear the ground rumble slightly and the snapping of branches as something stomped towards her.

From a large thicket, a massive Grimm burst forth, snarling as it charged at Yang. It had the body features of a large gorilla with white bony plates covering its chest. It was known as the Beringel, one of the most physically powerful Grimm.

It swung its massive fist towards Yang, intending to squash the Huntress into the ground. However, Yang stood her ground and met the Beringel's punch with her own. They collided, creating a small shockwave between them. For a few seconds, the two sides fought against the other, trying to overpower one another. Then, Yang slid to the side, causing the Beringel to lose balance and fall forward with its own momentum. Taking the chance, Yang darted forward and began to launch a volley of punches into the Grimm's side, firing shots from her shotgun gauntlets on every punch. The Beringel roared and swiped its arm around to try and slap Yang away, who nimbly dodged to the side. The Grimm began to get back up and Yang took the chance to reload her gauntlets.

"You're pretty tough aren't ya?" she said, smirking up at the hulking creature, "Well you can at least give me some fun."

The Beringel snarled angrily, barring its razor-sharp teeth at Yang. However, to Yang's great surprise, instead of charging again, the Grimm suddenly began to back away into a thick clump of bushes.

"Oh no you don't!" Yang yelled, charging forward after it, thinking it was trying to retreat.

She ran into the bushes where it had gone and began to look around. But the large Grimm had disappeared. She walked out into a clearing, her guard lowering slightly as she looked around, trying to find the beast.

A massive force suddenly struck Yang from the side, knocking her off her feet and into a nearby tree. She cursed loudly, feeling her aura ripple as it took the brunt of the blow. She scrambled to her feet quickly, ready to punch the Grimm straight in the face. But when she looked around, the clearing was empty once more.

"What the-," Yang began but was cut off as she was once more slammed, this time from behind. She flew a few yards, crashing onto the forest floor and skidded a few more yards before coming to a stop.

Yang was becoming enraged. Jumping to her feet, her eyes had changed to their angry red. Her aura began to envelop her in a fiery red light as she began to use her Semblance. She began to run through the forest, angrily looking around for the Beringel that was toying with her. However, she could not find it which only added to her mounting rage.

"Where did that big bastard go!" she screamed, pounding the ground in her anger, causing the trees nearby to shake. Just as it seemed she couldn't get any angrier, a voice suddenly spoke in her head.

"Snap out of it! Do not let your anger dictate your actions."

She paused. The voice had been from a memory of just a few days ago during training. As she tried to cool herself down, she let herself for a moment recall when she had heard the voice to speak to her.

It had been one of the many sparring matches during the week of training. Many times, the Saiyans, Piccolo, Krillin and Gohan would match themselves up with one or two of the Huntsmen and engage in sparring matches. Of course, despite the massive improvements made by the Huntsmen, they were still quite one-sided as their other worldly friends did not quite seem know how to "take it easy" on somebody.

On this particular day, Yang had been matched against the tall stoic Namekian, Piccolo. She didn't really know much about him, not having met him until just a few days prior when he, Blake and Sun had joined them at the Battle of Haven. At the time, she really only thought of him as a calmer and more composed Vegeta. He certainly had the strictness and the aloofness that Yang associated with the Saiyan Prince.

The match between the two was not one Yang was very proud of. It was pretty apparent that Piccolo was not going easy on her, easily dodging all her attacks and landing his blows with lightning fast speed, causing the blonde Huntress to stumble and at times collapse all together with Piccolo barking at her to get up every time she did so.

As it kept going and Yang got continuously beaten down, her anger began to boil until finally it was too much. She activated her Semblance, her rage consuming her, and she began to fly recklessly at Piccolo, her only intention being to smash his face into the ground. However, Piccolo simply dodged every angry strike, frowning as Yang kept trying to hit him without even looking. It was then that he finally spoke up.

"Snap out of it! Don't let your anger dictate your actions."

His commanding voice washed over Yang and she stopped her senseless swinging. She stood in front of him, panting heavily as her aura tried to recover from all the damage it had taken during the match. Piccolo looked down at her, watching her pant. Then he sighed and motioned to her.

"Follow me."

Yang was confused. They were supposed to be sparring. She looked to find Goku or one of the other instructors. But they were all too busy in their own sparring matches. So, without really any choice, Yang followed the Namekian, trying to keep herself steady as she walked. They went around the back of the house and Yang had a funny memory from when she was younger where she took boys she liked here to make out with so her dad wouldn't see.

Piccolo gestured to two large rocks and Yang sat down on one. He sat across from her, crossing his legs under him.

"I have taken you here because you must control your emotions during battle," Piccolo began, motioning to sit in the same position he was, "If you can't control your anger during battle, you will always lose."

"But," Yang argued, "My anger is part of my Semblance. It helps fuel it."

Piccolo shook his head.

"Don't misunderstand me. Anger can be very useful and can help you power through many situations. However, there is a difference between controlled and uncontrolled anger. If you can't control it, you will completely lose yourself and leave yourself completely open. This is why," he put his in his lap, fingertips against each other, "You need to meditate and find a calm middle ground. Concentrate your being and your aura to your core and let your mind be enveloped by it."

Yang, though quite skeptical about what Piccolo was suggesting, followed his instructions. She took in a deep breath and let her body relax. Immediately, she felt her stress begin to fade and her mind become less clouded. It had been the first time Yang had ever tried to meditate and she couldn't believe how surreal it felt. It was like having everything washed away, leaving only herself and her composure behind.

After what felt like days, Yang opened her eyes and looked around to find that day they had started mediating during had become night. She looked to forward at Piccolo and found that he wasn't there. She got up and went around the house and found him standing on the porch, looking out over the woods quietly.

"What happened?" she asked, stepping onto the porch and looking at him curiously, "Did I miss a day off training?"

Piccolo snorted.

"No. If anything, you trained even harder than everyone else today."

Yang raised an eyebrow.

"But I just meditated for hours without moving a muscle."

Piccolo nodded, giving her a small grin.

"And by doing so, you have begun to train your body to compose itself under stressful situations. Not only that, it helps you connect closer to your aura and use it more efficiently"

He lowered himself into a cross legged seating position before raising himself off the ground slightly.

"Becoming strong has as much to do with your mental state as it does with your physical state," he explained to Yang, "If you are physical very powerful, but do not have the composure to use it, you will never win a fight. That is why meditation is key to becoming a powerful warrior."

Now, back in the forest, as Yang got pummeled by a Beringel, she recalled all of this. And there was no better time than now to put Piccolo's teachings into practice. Yang calmed her senses, letting her emotion flow away and gather her aura into her core. Despite the tense situation, Yang almost put her guard entirely down, allowing herself to completely compose herself. In just a few moments, her rage had subsided, and she was not fully aware of herself once again. And of the surroundings.

A quiet creak caught her ears, coming from above and behind her. Clenching her fist, Yang opened her eyes and as she turned around, she channeled her aura into her fist. There, hanging from a branch, ready to once more blindside her was the Beringel. Despite its massive size, it had been able to stealthily use its monkey like body to travel between the tree's unseen and attack Yang from above with quick attacks before retreating.

Now, however, it's red glowing eyes widened in surprise as the Huntress spun around to me it. Before it could back away or throw a counter punch, Yang's fist smashed right into its chest, her aura coursing through it. As her fist connected, Yang unloaded an entire clip from her shotgun gauntlets to finish the job. The Grimm roared as the bullets tore right through its stomach and out its back. Yang stepped back, watching as the Beringel fell to its knees, already in the process of disintegrating into a mass of dust.

When it all cleared, Yang glanced at her fists. The aura she had channeled was still running through them. She took a deep breath and focused, allowing the aura to recede. Then she smiled.

"Well, it isn't my preferred way of doings things," she admitted as she began to walk through the forest once more, "But I guess it couldn't hurt to use it every once in a while."

* * *

"Let's go find a nice big Grimm, Ren!"

Nora cheered excitedly, running ahead and leaving Ren behind, wearing a wry smile.

"Just don't get lost," he said, though he wasn't sure if Nora heard him.

It has been nearly an hour after the volley of KI blast fired down upon them, separating them from the rest of their friends. At first, Ren and Nora had also been separated from each other. But, as Ren was going through the forest, trying to avoid any large conflicts, his orange haired companion had crept up behind him. He nearly had a heart attack when she had grabbed him from behind yelling "BOO!" very loudly.

Now they were walking together, looking for Grimm to dispatch of.

"What a romantic way to take a girl out," Ren thought to himself, following the joyful girl, making sure to keep her in sight, "But knowing her, she would actually prefer this over something like a moonlight walk."

Ren was almost always calm and composed. Even in these hard times, with the world's fate literally at stake, Ren was far calmer than the rest of his friends. But when it came to Nora… things got more complicated.

The two have been have best friends ever since they escaped the destruction of their town. They were always together, surviving being alone and working hard to become recognized by a prestigious Huntsmen academy such as Beacon. There, they had finally found more friends and group that they could basically family.

But in recent times, especially with Frieza's attack on Remnant, Ren had begun feeling very tense whenever he was with Nora, especially when they were alone. At first, he dismissed as nerves and general concern for her safety during a time where death seemed always imminent. However, it persisted, and Ren began to suspect, and the more he thought about it the more he was convinced, that he had truly fallen for Nora. Despite being one of the most nerve-wracking things for him to realize, he guessed that he shouldn't be too surprised. He had spent most of his life with her and knew her as well as he knew himself. In addition, it was no secret that Nora was quite smitten with him. Even he was perceptive enough to see that. But he had never said anything about, worried what it would do to their relationship, which had become a vital part of his life.

He watched her skip through the bushes, humming off key. Depending on how their resistance against Frieza goes, they could only be alive for a few more days. Maybe it was time he said something, before it was too late.

"Nora-," Ren began, steeling himself. However, before he could continue, a loud rustling of trees caught their attention. They looked and saw a large black mass approaching them, crashing through bushes and even a few smaller trees. At first, they couldn't quite tell it was. Then they noticed the massive arching shadow protruding from behind the thing.

They backed away slowly, pulling their weapons out as the giant scorpion Grimm advanced. Its front pincers snapping menacingly while its tail curled over its head, showing off the golden stinger at the end. Its many red eyes didn't have pupils, but Ren could feel each and every one of them looking at him, wanting to see him torn apart.

"Death Stalker, Ren!" Nora yelled, hefting her war hammer, grinning in anticipation. Ren wished he had the same excitement that she did to fight to a giant killer scorpion.

"It's been a while since we saw one of these," he said, keeping his eyes fixed on the Death Stalker, "The last time we encountered one was during out initiation exam at Beacon."

The Death Stalker clicked it's mandibles angrily and began to advance, reaching its pincers forward to snap up Ren and Nora. The two jumped to either side, flanking the Grimm and charged forward, aiming to attack its large body. Nora leaped up high, using a grenade from her hammer grenade launcher hybrid to boost herself, and came down swinging her hammer down.

But the Death Stalker had other ideas. As Nora was about to hit the head, the tail came swinging from the side, aiming to smack her out of the air.

"Nora!" Ren yelled, jumping up himself to help her.

But Nora noticed too late. The tail slammed her in the stomach, sending her flying. She crashed into a large tree, letting out a cry before sliding down.

Ren grit his teeth in rage. Skirting around the Death Stalker, he ran to help her, but a large pincer landed in front of him, blocking his path. Turning around, Ren suddenly realized that in his rush to help Nora, he had unknowingly placed himself in the worst position possible. The Death Stalker literally had him trapped between its pincers and the rest of it.

Ren watched the tail begin to tense as it aimed the stinger directly at him. Thinking quickly, Ren composed himself and focused his aura, activating his Semblance. He felt himself be covered in a sort of small black cloak as his Semblance hid his emotions from the Grimm, causing it to falter. A Grimm mainly senses out prey by their negative emotions, which has been in abundance with recent events. However, Ren's Semblance acts as a perfect counter.

Not wasting any time or anymore energy needed to keep the Semblance up, Ren managed to jump over the large pincers blocking him and ran to Nora, who was beginning to get up.

"Nora!" he said, reaching her and holding her shoulder tightly, "Are you alright?"

Nora looked at him and gave him a smile that made him suddenly flush.

"Yep. Just a shock that's all. After all our physical and aura training though, this isn't bad at all. But I do appreciate the concern, Ren."

He blushed more as she teased him. Before they could say anymore, the Death Stalker began approaching once more as the effect from Ren's Semblance faded. They straightened up, facing the Grimm with determination.

"Let's take care of this Ren," Nora said, her voice level.

Ren nodded in agreement and together they sprinted towards the Grimm. It swung its pincers toward them, but they dodged with Ren going straight for the head while Nora flanked the creature. With his dual pistols out, Ren fired a volley of shots at the head, aiming for the many red eyes that dotted it. They hit, causing the Death Stalker to click angrily as its eyes were punctured, leaving it quite blind.

But blinding it was just a distraction. As the Death Stalker struggled to locate its prey once more, Nora came from the side. Switching her hammer to a grenade launcher, she fired two shots at the stinger, blowing it to dust. As the tail flailed madly, she reverted her weapon back to hammer form and, putting all her aura into it, she swung it straight down atop the head of the Grimm. With a sickening crunch, it smashed right through its bony plating and blasted it apart.

Ren and Nora stepped away, watching the large scorpion body begin to dissolve into black dust. As they did, Ren suddenly put his arm around Nora. He didn't know what exactly made him do it, but after taking out a large Death Stalker without taking much harm, he felt need to show his affection to the girl that had helped him do it.

Nora leaned into him, not even questioning it but enjoying it.

"Nora," Ren said quietly, his eyes still on the mass of dust before them, "I promise you that no matter comes our way, I will make sure we have a future."

For a moment, Nora didn't say anything. Then, holding him tightly, she said, "You better believe it. I'm not letting us die after coming this far."

They shared a laugh, enjoying each other's company in the Grimm infested woods. That fact came back to them as they heard distant roars and crashing of trees. Nora sighed but then smiled up at Ren.

"Of course, we can't just have time to ourselves."

She leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek. Then she began jogging ahead, yelling behind at him, "Let's get moving! We can't all that training go to waste!"

Ren stood for a second, feeling the place where her lips had touched, still processing what happened. For once in his calm and composed life, his brain had short circuited. It took all his will power to shake himself and give chase to Nora, who had begun to venture deeper into the woods. And despite being on a training exercise to destroy killer creatures, he felt happier than he had in months.

* * *

The Beowolf screeched in pain as Jaune cut in two with his sword. It dissolved, leaving the blonde knight alone once more in the woods. He wiped his brow, sheathing his sword before continuing deeper into the woods.

"Just another Beowolf," he said to himself, glancing around in case something snuck up on him, "I'm surprised that I haven't run into anything worse. Guess I should count myself lucky for that."

He smiled dryly, wondering if a massive Grimm would suddenly pop just for him saying that. But nothing came, which, if anything, only added to his anxiety.

Bad enough he had been completely separated from his friends and was now wondering through a forest infested with Grimm. But being trapped her as means of testing how far he had come under the Saiyan's harsh training made it nearly unbearable. Especially since Jaune felt, like he had done many times before, that he had not really progressed much despite his efforts.

Sure, he and his friends were not going to reach the level of Goku or Vegeta anytime soon, or ever for that matter. But still, Jaune felt that he was still woefully unprepared to embark on a mission to retrieve the Relics and be of much use. Watching his friends, he had seen them considerably improve in the last week in so many different ways. Some had almost become unrecognizable due to how far they had come.

But Jaune did not believe he had improved in the strength department at all. He barely got through training sessions without blacking out and did not have the skill to perform some of the new moves that the others were learning. He didn't even have a Semblance to show.

However, Jaune had anticipated all this before they even started training. Which is why he approached Dende with the intention of learning to use his large amount of aura to heal others in battle. It would be the closest thing to a Semblance we would get and if he could not be an offensive powerhouse, he could focus on being a support instead. And, to his great relief, his training with Dende had really paid off. The small Namekian had been able to successfully draw out his aura in a way that could be used for healing, despite him being skeptical at first.

"But being alone in the woods with wild Grimm around is not the ideal spot for a healer," he said presently, his mind reflexively coming back to a negative. No matter what he did to improve, Jaune found some way to degrade himself back down to nothing more than useless boy with a sword.

Jaune sighed, stopping for a few moments as he tried to clear his thoughts of negativity. It wouldn't do him any good to have his mind clouded by such thoughts. He just needed to press on. He could not give up after everything his friends have done for him. And… he could not give up on her.

Jaune closed his eyes tightly, resisting the urge to cry. It happened whenever his mind wondered towards that subject, which was every day. It was both his greatest burden and his greatest motivator.

"Pyrrha," he said quietly, the name making his breathing haggard.

Not a day went by without him remembering his former teammate at Beacon. She came to the school, already being a very skilled Huntress with tournament trophies under her belt and being known as one of the greatest prodigies of the generation. However, Jaune, who had not known any of this beforehand, somehow stumbled across her and, with his casual and good-natured personality, became good friends with her. Despite him being far weaker than her in almost every way, she had willingly joined his team along with Ren and Nora.

From there, she was the person that always supported him. No matter what predicament Jaune was in, she came to help or assist him in some way. Even when he pushed back against the help, believe he wasn't worth it, she persisted. Even when she found out that Jaune had forged his report card and had been accepted based on lies, she did not stop caring for him. In fact, she personally trained him, helping him become a better swordsman and Huntsman. It was the first time in Jaune's life that he had been helped in such a way and even, to some extent, cared for in that way. His parents had always supported him but were always too busy to give him the help he needed. It was only when Pyrrha came along that he began to improve and grow as a person. Overtime, he grew to love her deeply. But he never said it and hid as best as he could. Because though they were close friends, Jaune still believed that he was not worthy of her.

Unfortunately, he would come to regret not saying anything. The Fall of Beacon came and the city of Vale along with the academy were thrown into an invasion they could not win. Jaune and Pyrrha had kept close, making sure to keep the other safe. However, when Pyrrha saw Cinder with the power of the Fall Maiden, she had told Jaune to leave. He had protested angrily, refusing to let her go alone. But Pyrrha had silenced it all with a kiss before sending him away in a flying equipment locker. The last time Jaune saw her alive was her sad smile as she sent him to safety.

To this day, her death was his biggest burden. It was the reason he blamed everything on himself. It was the reason he never believed he was good enough. All because on that night, he wasn't able to stop her.

Jaune wiped the tears away from his eyes. He hadn't realized he was actively sobbing until he felt them reach his mouth.

He straightened up, making sure that his face was dry. He suddenly felt quite foolish for crying, knowing very well that his negative emotions would become a literal beacon for hungry Grimm. He did a quick check around him to see if anything was approaching. But once more, he seemed to be alone.

"Wow," he said, "Luck must really be on my side."

A scream suddenly erupted, resounding throughout the forest. Jaune spun around, his eyes widening in shock. The scream had seemed to come from close by and, to Jaune's horror, it sounded human.

"Someone's in trouble!" he yelled.

Forgetting his worries for the movement, he began to sprint in the direction where the scream had come from, jumping over large roots and ducking under low hanging branches. As he ran, he heard another scream accompanied by the sound of fighting. He was definitely getting close.

He burst through a thin wall of bushes and arrived at a clearing. He came to grinding halt, his mouth going dry as he comprehended the scene before him.

Sun, Neo, and Oscar were standing in front of him, their weapons out and their faces grim as they faced a terrifying battalion of Grimm. The dark mass consisted of many winged manticores and sphinxes, all of them either actively flying around or pawing the ground, looking for a chance to strike. Here and there lay black dust that used to be a living Grimm, but the number facing the Huntsmen was still quite large.

Jaune came to join his comrades, looking to see if anyone was hurt. Sun seemed relatively unharmed, though he was panting heavily, clearly having exerted a lot of aura. Oscar was also mostly unscathed except for a large cut across his arm which was being healed by aura as Jaune watched.

However, Neo was not doing so well. Despite her aura flickering around her, trying to keep her energized, it was also trying to heal multiple cuts on her both arms and legs, some looking quite deep. A large tattered slash was still bleeding freely on her cheek and the communication device that allowed her to talk was sparking slightly around her ear and looked broken.

"Jaune!" Oscar exclaimed, relief in his voice, "Thank god you're here. We could definitely use some help here."

Jaune noticed that Oscar's voice was normal and realized with a pang that the young boy was not channeling the spirit inside him. He wanted to ask him about it, but he decided that it could wait. He turned to Neo.

"Neo," he said, "Stay still for a second. I'm gonna heal your wounds."

Neo nodded, not saying anything. Jaune stretched her hands towards Neo and began to channel his aura outward, letting it leave him and spread over the young woman. Her wounds began to close up and disappear causing her to smile in appreciation.

Just then, one of the flying manticores gave out a mighty roar and charged down towards them, followed by a few more. As they approached, Sun and Oscar stepped in front of Jaune and Neo, preparing to engage.

"You keep healing her," Sun commanded, "We will hold them off."

Jaune could only watch as the two met the manticores in combat. Sun used his bow staff smack the first one to the side before using the two revolvers that made up the staff to fire at the next one. Meanwhile, Oscar leaped up and landed on top of another manticore. As the Grimm tried to shrug him off, he griped his cane in both hands and sunk right into the back of the creature. The manticore dissolved and Oscar fell down back to earth, where he rolled to minimize harm to himself. He got up and Jaune could see that through his concentration, he was smiling a little.

Unfortunately, the boy got a little cocky. A sphinx had quietly sunk around them and with Oscar's back turned, it pounced. Jaune didn't have time to warn Oscar as he was tackled from behind and nearly eaten. As the Grimm tried to ravage him, he shoved his cane in its mouth and tried to slip out. However, the sphinx simply lifted him up and flung him off the cane. He landed next Jaune, battered and disarmed.

"That did not go well," he said, coughing a little as he picked himself up.

He faced the sphinx, who had dropped the cane and was now charging towards him once more. Oscar put up his fists, but his face now conveyed pure terror as he stood unarmed against a charging Grimm.

A flash of white sped past Oscar and met the sphinx mid charge, slicing straight through it. The Grimm didn't have time even cry out before it burst into a cloud of dust. Oscar smiled as Neo turned around, her parasol still outstretched.

"Thanks for the assist," Oscar called out.

Neo nodded and sped back, picking up Oscar's discarded cane as she went. She returned it to him before they ran ahead to help Sun, who was beginning to get overwhelmed by the rest of the pack. Jaune was left behind, recovering his strength after using so much aura. He watched as the three of them fought together, dispatching Grimm from left to right as Neo's fully healed help began to turn the tide of the battle.

Jaune wanted to join and help, but he was still a little tired from healing Neo and he knew that if he ran in like this, he would only become a hinderance. Besides, it seemed they were doing just fine without him as he watched them tear through the pack, using their aura to power up their attacks while using their improved agility and speed to evade attacks.

However, as the battle raged on, the amount of Grimm didn't seem to decrease as more and more arrived to join, attracted by the commotion. As they did so, the Huntsmen fighting began to tire and were soon unable to cope with the growing numbers.

Jaune watched, his face pale as Sun was slashed from behind by a Sphinx and fell to the ground with a cry. Oscar was engaged by two manticore and desperately tried to fight against them but was eventually hit by a powerful swipe and brought to his knees. Even Neo, despite her impressive nimble fighting style soon found herself surrounded and tried to escape only to be attacked from behind.

Within just seconds, the three Huntsmen lay on the ground, their aura's rippling dangerously as they tried to get back up. But they the Grimm kept coming and they would not let them recover.

Jaune saw all of this, his body feeling like lead. He wanted to reach for his sword and charge the mob, but he would just be torn up as well. As the Grimm began to close in on Sun, Neo, and Oscar, Jaune racked his brain desperately, trying to find a way to get them all out safely. But he could think of nothing.

"Dammit!" he swore, slamming his fist against the ground in anger. Once again, he felt completely useless to help the situation. He was not a powerful Huntsmen like his friends or even a knowledgeable spirit like Ozpin. He was a mediocre swordsman and a mediocre healer. He would never be more than that. Mediocre.

He gripped his sword and pulled it out, his face contorted in defiance. He could not watch his friends die from the sidelines. He knew that he would die if he did this, but it was better than doing nothing.

He took one step forward when a sudden voice stopped him. A voice that made him freeze.

"Use your aura, Jaune! Expel all of it and transfer its power into your friends!"

Jaune spun around in a circle, his eyes wide and searching. There was no one. But that voice… it sounded just like-.

"GET THE HELL OFF ME!"

Jaune turned back to see his free comrades on the verge of being completely ravaged by manticores and sphinx's. Their aura was spent, and their wounds were beginning to weigh them down as they tried to scramble away from their doom.

Jaune's face tightened. He wanted to figure what where the voice had come from, but this came first. Extending his arms towards the fallen Huntsmen he roared and focused all his aura into them. With the force of a fire hose, his aura shot into his friends, quickly filling them with new energy and power. Their wounds began to heal, and their movements suddenly began to quicken as they found the strength to pick themselves up. They glanced at themselves with wonder, feeling their bodies fully healed and their aura completely replenished. But it wasn't just that. They could feel the extra power coursing through them.

Jaune collapsed to the ground, barely conscious. He could not move at all, his aura totally drained. He didn't even have the strength to pick his head up and look in front of him. All he could hear was the snarling of Grimm and the sounds of combat.

"Please tell me I did it," was all he said before he closed his eyes and fainted.

When Jaune came to, his body still felt pretty numb. He tried moving his fingers and, while a little difficult, he was relieved to feel them move. Then he looked up and noticed the three faces looking down at him. They all smiled when they saw he was awake.

"Gave us a small scare there," Sun said, putting his arms behind his back, "But I was sure you were fine. Takes more than some Grimm to kill you."

Jaune blinked up at him. He vaguely remembered Sun and the two others about to be ravaged by a pack of Grimm.

"I should say the same to you," Jaune said, "What exactly happened?"

Oscar kneeled next to him, looking to see if there were any wounds.

"Well," he began, lifting Jaune's arm to inspect it, "We were getting mauled out there. Then, as we were about to be torn apart, you suddenly ran to us and channeled all your aura into the three of us. Of course, you healed were able to heal us quickly, but it also seems you were able to give our aura a sort of power boost. With it, we easily took care of the remaining Grimm while you were unconscious."

Jaune gave him a questioning look.

"A… power boost? What do you mean by that?"

Oscar gave him an equally questioning look.

"We were hoping you would tell us about it. I mean, you were the one practicing healing with Dende."

"Yeah," Jaune admitted, "But I only learned to heal people by using my aura and creating a certain energy that is similar to the one that Dende uses."

Sun tapped his foot, his hand on his chin.

"Well, if that's the case then it doesn't explain the sudden amount of power we received when you gave us your aura. Like, you don't quite understand pal. It was a serious power boost. It made fighting the rest of the Grimm a walk in the park."

Jaune was at a loss for words. He didn't really have an explanation for this sudden power he had, and he was pretty sure he didn't pick it up from Dende.

"I think," a new voice said, "Mr. Arc has finally truly unlocked his Semblance."

Everyone turned to look at Oscar whose eyes had changed color and his voice had become Ozpin's. He smiled gently at Jaune's bewildered expression.

"Yes, you heard me correctly, Mr. Arc," he said, "I believe that when you asked Dende to train you how to heal, the Namekian did not so much as teach you how to heal people the way he does. He led you to learning how to manipulate your aura and channel your aura into other people which is essentially healing them. However, it seems during a dire circumstance you were somehow able to channel your aura in a way that would heal and boost your targets own aura. This is a unique ability that very few Huntsmen have ever been able to use. As for how you figured it out, I can't quite say. These things just happen naturally."

Jaune was stunned beyond belief. He couldn't quite believe that he, after months of trying, had stumbled upon his Semblance. All because he asked Dende to teach him how to heal people. All because he wanted to become more useful.

He wasn't the only one surprised. Sun and Neo looked at Ozpin in astonishment.

"That's his Semblance?!" Sun exclaimed loudly, unable to keep out his shock, "That's actually incredible! It's easily one of the most reliable ability's I have ever seen."

Ozpin shook his head slightly, chuckling.

"Now, now. It does come with some drawbacks. Especially when it hasn't been trained with. As you can see, after unknowingly activating it, it has drained Mr. Arc of all his aura. It will be a while before it begins to recover."

Jaune knew he was right about that. There was no way he was moving from this spot for a while. But then, he began to feel a small bit of warmth inside him. Warmth that slowly began to spread around until all of a sudden, Jaune could feel his body entire body. He carefully began to stand up, causing even Ozpin to gape in shock. He straightened up and suddenly felt nicely refreshed.

Sun gave Ozpin a derisive snort.

"'It will be a while before it begins to recover,'" he imitated Ozpin's voice before yelling, "My ass! He looks good as new!"

"That is quite remarkable," Ozpin admitted squinting at Jaune curiously, "I wonder why that is."

Jaune suddenly remembered something from long ago tugging at his mind. Something he had been told when he was first told about aura. Something he had been told after his aura was unlocked by…

"Someone once told me that I had unusually large amount of aura," he stated, "Maybe that's why I am able to channel my aura into other people. The extra aura is for me to use to help others."

Ozpin nodded, considering this new information.

"Yes, that would make sense. But still, it should still be impossible to recover so quickly after being completely drained."

Ozpin clearly wanted to continue discussing the subject, but the group suddenly heard the distant sounds of roaring and it came back to them that they were far from safe. Sun patted Ozpin on the back.

"Let's table these discussions for now, prof," he said, "We got other things to worry about. But one more thing before that," Sun suddenly paused, clearly remembering something. He rounded on Ozpin suddenly, his face becoming angry.

"Hold up! Why are you here now?! Why didn't you help Oscar and us fight the Grimm with your own powerful aura and what not?!"

Ozpin flinched.

"You see, I was a little preoccupied with finalizing our plan to find the Relics and I wasn't quite paying attention."

"YOUR BODY WAS LITERALLY ABOUT TO DIE!"

As Sun began to berate Ozpin, Neo watching cheerfully, clearly enjoying the entertainment, Jaune was thinking about something else. Ozpin's question about how he had figured out to use his Semblance had come back to him and for a few moments, he was just as clueless. However, as his strength returned to him, his memory did as well, and he remembered the voice that spoke to him. The voice that had sounded exactly like her.

Jaune looked down, hiding his face from the others so they couldn't see his tears. As they dropped to the forest floor, he smiled.

"Even now, you are looking after me, aren't you?" he whispered quietly, "Even now, you are helping me find my way."

* * *

Dusk had begun to fall upon the island of Patch. The sun was nearly below the horizon, giving way to the cracked moon as it emerged on the other horizon.

Though it was the usual time to begin winding down, the inhabitants of the Xiao Long household did not do so. Especially the ones training outside.

Gohan flew to the side, evading another KI blast from his father, and began to charge up his own. But he wasn't given the chance as Piccolo appeared behind him with super speed, catching the boy off guard. With a downward strike, Gohan was sent once more plummeting to the earth with too much velocity for him to stop himself. He slammed into the ground, groaning in pain. Nearby, he could hear a cry from Krillin, followed shortly by the sound of a tree breaking and falling.

After they had sent the Huntsmen into the Grimm infested woods and after Vegeta separated them forcefully, the fighters had commenced with their own training as usual. Their training didn't really consist of much expect for lots and lots of sparring. Sparring that felt far more like an actual fight.

At times, they would fight in a battle royale, everyone fighting for themselves. This type though had on multiple times nearly destroyed the Xiao Long residence since the five of them were literally flying around nonstop, flinging energy balls at each other and rushing each other in midair. Thankfully, Goku's quick reflexes and speed had so far spared the house from any harm, but the property around it was now filled with craters both big and small and the surrounding tree line of the forest had been pushed back a few hundred feet.

Other times though, like right now, the five would split into two groups and go from there. Today, Gohan had been paired up with his father and Piccolo who had taken it upon themselves to tag team him and make sure he practices his dodging and reflexes. So far, it had not been going so well. However, it was better then what Krillin got. He was with Vegeta, who did not spare a tiny bit of mercy. Gohan still felt the bruises Vegeta left after their last sparring match.

As Gohan unstuck his head from the ground once more, he heard Piccolo yell from above, "You must be aware of your surroundings at all times! Keep your senses on high alert while fighting so you can anticipate an unexpected attack from behind!"

Gohan nodded faintly, picking himself up and raising back into the air. Goku and Piccolo were hovering above him, looking down as he came up and Gohan decided to try and surprise them. He quickly stuck out his arms and fired to KI blasts at each of them. As they soared towards them, Gohan used the distraction to speed up and fly all the way around them. As the two easily batted away the weak KI blasts used as a distraction, Gohan charged up and began to fling a volley at them from behind.

For a split second, the Saiyan hybrid thought it had worked. His attacks seemed to connect and exploded in midair where they had been hovering. However, as the smoke cleared, Gohan saw nobody hovering there anymore. Too late, Gohan activated his senses and spun around to find the two of them smirking at him.

"Good try son," Goku said, grinning cheekily, "But you are gonna need to get a lot faster for that to work on-"

Gohan launched forward, throwing a barrage of punches at his dad, each punch moving at the speed of light. Goku simply backed away slowly, effortlessly dodging the lighting fast attacks. Piccolo just watched, deciding not to intervene and see how this goes.

After about a minute of Gohan trying to land a hit, Goku finally decided to end it. With perfect reflexes, he grabbed caught one of Gohan's punches in one hand, stopping the boy cold. Before Gohan could do anything, Goku punched him in the gut before once again sending Gohan back to the ground with downward kick. This time Gohan crashed landed on his back, crying out in agony as the ground below him cracked with the force of the fall.

His eyesight became a little blurry as he tried to fight through the pain. From the corner of his eye, he could make out two figures locked in an intense exchange of fists. The shorter of two actually seemed to get the first hit off, making the other recoil back. However, as the shorter pressed its advantage, the other one launched a sudden volley of blue energy blasts forcing the shorter one to dodge. Then the taller of the two flew straight at the other, landing a solid hit that sent the short one crashing out of Gohan's sight. A moment later, there was a resounding crash followed by the thunderous noises of falling trees.

"Poor Krillin," Gohan thought drearily.

Just then, he heard another noise to the side. Mustering his strength, Gohan raised himself to a seated position, trying to ignore the sharp pangs of pain, and looked over to see that the Xiao Long's house door had opened revealing Taiyang in the door frame.

"Hey guys!" he yelled loudly, making sure everyone could hear him, "Just wanted to let you know that dinner is ready."

Goku quickly lowered himself to the ground, his eyes sparkling at the mention of dinner. Piccolo and Vegeta joined him and Krillin flew out from the forest, landing unsteadily beside Gohan.

"Sounds great, Tai!" Goku responded happily, "We will be right in!"

Tai nodded absently but was clearly focused on something else. It became apparent when he turned back to them and asked sharply, "Where are the kids? Shouldn't they have been back in the evening?"  
Vegeta scoffed.

"Only if they survived and found their way back. Otherwise they are probably dead."

Tai recoiled at Vegeta's bluntness. Goku frowned at Vegeta for a moment before turning to Tai and smiling reassuringly.

"Don't worry!" Goku said, "These guys won't be beaten by something like this. I am completely positive that they will all succeed without any trouble."

Tai didn't look much more hopeful, but he sighed and went back inside, closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, Goku rounded back on Vegeta, his face growing serious.

"You need to stop saying things like that," he said, his tone unusually stern, "Especially to Tai. His daughters are two of those kids and if they got hurt in anyway-"

"What are you saying, Kakarot?" Vegeta cut in curtly, "Are you saying that if those brats die, that man will do something to us?"

He shook his head and sniggered. Piccolo and Krillin glared at him, close to their limit of dealing with Vegeta's mean comments. Goku just sighed, turning away and looking towards the forest. As for Gohan, he certainly did not like all of these negative and degrading comments from Vegeta about their new Huntsmen friends. But at the same time, he knew that deep inside, the Prince truly cared. Gohan still remembered when he had saved Yang from being killed at the hands of Frieza, throwing his body in the way and getting injured.

The door to the house opened once more and they turned to see Bulma and Dende approaching them, both looking apprehensive. It seems that Tai had told them that the Huntsmen were still not back.

"Still no sign of them?" Bulma asked.

Goku shook his head, not saying anything as he kept his eyes on the tree line. Krillin sighed heavily as the atmosphere grew tense.

"I knew we shouldn't have done this," he eventually said, "I mean, putting them in a clearing and allowing them all to fight together against a small group of those creatures was fine. But sending them out into the woods that we got Raven to fill with a horde of them and then separating them? I think we may have pushed them a little too hard this time, Goku."

Vegeta actually laughed, causing everyone but Goku to turn and glare at him.

"You must be stupider than you look, earthling," he chortled, "That is, if you think that sending them out there is more dangerous than having them spar with us every day."

Krillin was about retort angrily but to everyone's surprise, Goku nodded in agreement.

"Vegeta's right. The Grimm they are fighting are their natural enemies in this world. They were trained before to fight them and before we came, they were about to capably fight and defeat most of them. Now, after training with us, these creatures will soon seem like nothing to them. Maybe not at first, but soon."

Bulma looked unconvinced.

"Even if that's true, Goku, how can you be sure that they are doing fine right now? Can you sense them?"

Goku suddenly smiled widely.

"Earlier, yes. Now, I don't need to even do that. Look."

He pointed towards the tree line. Everyone followed his finger and the tension melted away all at once.

Climbing out of the brush one by one, looking absolutely exhausted and sporting various injuries were the Huntsmen. Most came by themselves, but a few came in groups, much to the annoyance of Vegeta. But the no one else cared. Despite looking they had been through a meat grinder, the Huntsmen smiled up at them as they approached, careful to avoid tripping on new craters created by the days training session.

Within just a few minutes, everyone had returned from the forest, gathering together and began to exchange stories with each other. Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Bulma, and Dende joined in as well, interested to hear all the different accounts as well. Even Piccolo seemed interested when Yang came to him and described her adventure.

Only Vegeta stood apart, watching the gathering with distaste. He didn't want to partake in what he considered to be very foolish and sentimental acts. Especially when he believed that the exercise that had just been through was not so hard.

He spun on his heel, about to head inside the house when a voice spoke up behind him.

"Vegeta?"

He stopped. Without turning around, he looked over his shoulder to see who was speaking. It was Weiss, visibly nervous.

"What do you want?" Vegeta demanded, his voice gruff and angry.

Weiss hesitated for a second. Then she performed a curtsey.

"I would just like to thank you for teaching me how to use my aura with my weapon. It was incredibly useful today. Without it, I may have not gotten out so easily."

Vegeta was silent for a moment. He considered telling her to go away but something stopped him from doing so. Instead, he just grunted and looked away. As he began to walk to the house, he called back to Weiss, "Keep practicing."

Meanwhile, back at the gathering, news began to spread that dinner was ready. They group began to move towards the house, eager to chow down on some food after a hard-stressful day.

Dende was just about to follow Ren and Nora inside when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Jaune gesturing at him. Curious, the Namekian let everyone past him until it was just him and Jaune outside.

"Hello, Jaune. Everything okay in today's training session?"

Jaune hesitated and for a moment, Dende was worried that something really bad had happened. Then Jaune grinned shyly.

"Yeah, a little better than it should have. Apparently, I unlocked my Semblance today."

Dende clapped his hands together in excitement.

"That's excellent news, Jaune! What sort of power is it?"

"Well that's the thing," Jaune began to explain, "I basically can use my aura to heal and boost other people's auras and support them during a fight. That's why I have such a large quantity of aura."

Dende paused, letting that sink in.

"So, your Semblance was healing all along? Does that mean our lessons were a waste of time?"

Jaune shook his head, smiling kindly.

"Not at all. I actually stopped you so I could thank you. Without you helping me learn to manipulate and channel my aura, I would have never discovered my Semblance. You gave me the foundation for finding the Semblance!"

Jaune reached his hand out towards Dende.

"I can't thank you enough, Dende," he said seriously, "I will make sure to improve this Semblance and be a valuable asset to this mission. All thanks to you."

Dende reached up and accepted his hand, smiling back.

"I'm happy I could help!"

With that, the two entered the Xiao Long household and joined the dinning festivities already underway inside.

Ever since the mass arrival a week ago, Taiyang had been working nearly as hard as the Huntsmen. Starting near noon, he would begin preparing food for dinner, making amounts that dwarfed feasts served at rich houses. With the ferocious appetite the of two Saiyan's, plus everyone else, it was the only way Tai could feed everyone. Every night this week, he had collapsed, exhausted from cooking and making second portions for Goku and Vegeta as they ate through his dishes nonstop. On top of all of this, it cost nearly a fortune to keep this up for a week. Tai was beginning to run out of his reserve money buying all the ingredients needed to satisfy his house guests.

Today had been almost no different. He had started at noon and worked nonstop since cooking dish after dish. However, there was one difference today. One that both surprised and relieved Tai. He was helped by the two most unexpected people. His ex-wife and his brother in-law.

Raven had claimed that, since she had gathered all the Grimm for the Huntsmen to fight, there was no reason for her to be out in the forest today. So, to occupy herself, she had decided to help Tai. She tried to make it clear that she was only helping because she had nothing better to do, but Tai could tell she need some company. And besides, the two of them have gotten a lot closer ever since she arrived. Tai enjoyed reconnecting with his former wife and teammate, but he was getting increasingly annoyed at Yang who kept badgering him about it every day.

Qrow had nearly the same claim that his sister did. After Ruby got him to stop drinking in the morning, which Tai was extremely thankful for, the veteran Huntsmen had crashed on the couch and slept off his hangover for a few hours. When he awoke, it had been well into afternoon and, nothing else to do, he elected to help Tai as well. The most ironic thing for Tai about this whole situation was that this was the first time he had spent a decent amount of time with both Raven and Qrow together since their Huntsmen days at Beacon.

"If only Summer could see us now," Tai had thought as he cooked alongside the two of them, "She would have been overjoyed."  
Now, with the mountain of dishes complete and with a host of hungry Huntsmen and Saiyan's ready to eat, a full on feast was underway. Within minutes, talk and laughter broke out as people began to converse, sharing stories and jokes with each other.

Ruby and Yang listened in awe as Goku and Krillin regaled them with stories about when they were children and they trained under an old pervert by the name of Master Roshi to fight in martial arts tournaments. Meanwhile, Gohan compared stories about training under Piccolo with Blake and Sun, laughing as they found similarities between the two. Piccolo did not join in, but he listened from across the room, a dry smile on his face. At the dining table, Bulma was busy repairing Neo's communication device while the mute tried to convey to her that she shouldn't bother right at that second. But the blue haired genius waved away the protests. Even the proud Prince Vegeta found himself in a discussion with Weiss about the material his armor was made of and how it enabled him to stay flexible when he fought.

Overall, the mood had risen significantly in the Xiao Long household, with concerning thoughts and problems temporarily forgotten about. Neither Frieza nor Salem were mentioned. Not even the Relics were discussed.

In the living room, Ren and Nora sat together on the couch eating together and watching the late-night news channel on the television. It had been so long they had even watched television that the experience made them feel somewhat nostalgic.

As the reporter talked droned on, Nora leaned against Ren's shoulder.

"You know," she began, smiling sweetly up at him, "I really enjoyed our date today."

Ren chuckled.

"I pegged you for the type that liked to kill monsters rather than going out for a candle lit dinner."

They shared a good-hearted laugh. They were facing each other and suddenly they fell silent, looking into each other's eyes. Each could feel the others warm breath and hear it quicken in the moment. Then, slowly, they began to lean in.

Nora had been waiting for this moment nearly her entire life. Finally, she was finally gonna be with the man she loved. Despite everything that had happened, this one moment would be the one she would remember forever.

They were just millimeters apart when suddenly Ren froze. Nora felt him tense and she back away quickly, looking at him concern.

"What's the matter, Ren?" she asked, wondering if she had done something wrong.

But Ren wasn't looking at her. His eyes had become glued to the television screen and as Nora watched, his face grew deathly pale. She followed his gaze and looked at the television herself. She let out a high-pitched scream of absolute terror.

Within a few seconds, everyone else was in the living room. They began to approach Nora and Ren, ready to ask what had happened when they all noticed the television, and everything became clear.

"Greetings, citizens of Remnant," Lord Frieza said on the television. His smile was as cruel as ever and his red eyes were just as piercing on the monitor as they were in real life. He stood where the reporter had been a few minutes ago and standing to the side was his right-hand man, Ginyu. There was no sign of the reporter or any of the other news crew.

"I have yet to properly introduce myself to you all," continued Frieza, his tone polite but unmistakably smug, "I am Lord Frieza, ruler of most of the known galaxy. However, recently I have been confined to this wretched rock as a result of some unforeseen problems."

He paused, his expression seeming to harden at the thought. However, when he continued, his voice was just as polite.

"It is actually about these unforeseen problems that I come before you today. You see, I am searching for a few select individuals that have dared to intervene with my plans. Unfortunately, the miserable rats are quite good at hiding and my men have been having trouble locating them."

To the side, Ginyu visibly shifted, clearly nervous. Frieza continued on, his face becoming darker by the word and his smile becoming more sadistic.

"So here is my offer. My men will be going around with details about these individuals and I ask you, citizens of Remnant, to find these criminals and report them to me at once. However, if you disappoint…"  
Frieza stopped and his devilish expression match his devilish features all too well. In that moment, he embodied everything people feared about the devil and far beyond.

"If you disappoint," he continued slowly, his polite demeanor replaced by dripping menace, "I will begin to slowly exterminate populations one by one as I have already done with the likes of the places you call Menagerie and Anima. And if you still cannot deliver any results…"

He raised his hand. From the other side of the screen, the reporter suddenly came into view, suspended in midair. He was struggling madly as Frieza brought him towards the middle of the screen. Then, as the man wailed in despair in front of millions of people, Frieza slowly closed his fist. The resulting explosion knocked the camera down and it fell to the floor. All that could be seen on the television was a blue wall and a set of alien feet standing before them. As the smoke cleared from the attack, the feet walked towards the camera and Frieza's face once again appeared, filling the entire television. His smile was wider and crueler than ever as he finished his message.

"That will be your entire planet."

With those chilling words, the screen cut out and the television showed nothing but static.

For a few moments, there was total silence. No one moved. No one spoke. The cheerful mood that had filled the house just minutes ago had vanished without a trace, replaced once more by the fear they had become so accustomed to.

"You… monster…"

Everyone slowly turned to look at Goku. His head was lowered, and he was shaking uncontrollably. As they watched, they felt the ground suddenly tremble slightly and before Goku suddenly threw his head back and roared.

"YOU MONSTER, FRIEZA!"

His power exploded outward, pushing people back and blowing out windows. It was just a single shockwave, but it was enough to startle everyone out of their daze.

Goku began to walk out, his power still flickering around him. Before he could reach the exit though, Gohan appeared before him, blocking his path.

"Wait, dad!" he pleaded, "Don't run after him now! You will get yourself killed!"

For a moment, Goku seemed not to care. He stook one more step forward but then stopped. He paused then let out a deep breath, relaxing his energy.

"Sorry about that," he said at length, his voice quiet and reserved, "I lost my head there for a second."

He turned back to the group at large. Everyone looked back at him, sharing his misery. They knew that Frieza had been looking for them. It had probably all the evil tyrant could think about after they escaped through his fingers at Haven. But they hadn't realized how far he would go. They didn't think we would use the citizens to find them, giving them a deal that they could not refuse. Now, each and every one of them had become a fugitive. They would be hunted after, the people searching restlessly for them. It just made their mission even harder.

After another long silence, someone cleared their throat. Oscar stepped forward, his current demeanor revealing that Ozpin was in control.

"It seems we have met another massive obstacle," he said, keeping his voice steady, "But we cannot let this deter us. If anything, this only means we must act as quickly as we can."  
Ruby shifted uncomfortably.

"But, do we have a plan yet, Ozpin? And are we even ready to go out there yet?"

She directed the second question to Goku, who stayed silent. Ozpin, however, responded a slight smile appearing on his face.

"As a matter of fact, Ms. Rose," he said, "I do have a plan finalized for us."

All eyes were on him now. They all waited expectedly.

"It's all very simple actually," he explained, "We already have the Relic of Knowledge. We still have to find the other three. According to Bulma's Relic Radar, the other three are still at the Huntsmen academies of Atlas, Vacuo, and Vale respectively. Even the one in Beacon is still intact. However, we do not have time to go to each one as a group and get the Relic. So, we have to just split into three separate groups. Each group will be responsible for retrieving one Relic. When we have all three, we will meet at the ruins of Beacon to summon the gods. It will be easiest if the ones from Atlas and Vacuo come to Vale so that the party at Beacon has ample time to search for the Relic in the rubble. Does everyone understand?"

The plan did seem simple enough. The group pondered it, trying to see if there was anything wrong. Jaune stuck his hand up.

"What about the Relic of Knowledge? Does it stay here until we have collected the others?"

Ozpin shook his head.

"No, we will need to take it with us. As strange as it might sound, it will be safest with one of the groups. If Taiyang is questioned and they find the Relic here, this mission will completely collapse. Also, if we have the Relic with us already, we do not have to spend time retrieving it from here when the time comes to summon the gods. Any more questions?"

Weiss raised her hand.

"Who is in which group?"

Ozpin smiled sadly.

"I will announce that tomorrow. To be honest, that was the only piece I had not yet smoothed out. But with time running out, I will use tonight to figure it out."

Weiss nodded and Piccolo spoke up.

"Don't we need certain Maiden's to open the doors to the Relics?" he asked critically.

Ozpin nodded.

"Usually, yes. However, while those door are magically and built from the most powerful material found on Remnant, you guys have powers that have never been experience on Remnant since the Gods walked along with us. I believe that Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Krillin, and you, Piccolo, have enough power to simply blow down the doors to the Relics."

Piccolo grunted. Satisfied, Ozpin was about to dismiss everyone when, suddenly, Vegeta spoke up.

"This is our last night here," he said, his voice dark but not cruel, "We will not return here. We will either succeed in defeating Frieza. Or we will die trying. Whatever the case maybe, this your last night to rest and prepare yourselves for what's ahead. Once we are on this mission, there will be no more drills. No more training. There will be just you, the objective, and the enemy. That is what this has all come down to."

He did not go on. Instead he turned and walked outside. There was a deathly silence following his speech. It was only broken when Goku sighed and addressed the group himself.

"He's right. This really is our last night. Get some sleep. You are going to need all the energy you can get."

With that, he to walked outside. The house was silent. Then, gradually, people began to head upstairs and retire. No words were exchanged. No one wished another a good night. There was nothing to do but to get as much sleep as possible. Because when they wake up, they will not experience another good night's sleep again.

* * *

Salem sat in her throne room, listening quietly to the wailing Grimm outside. For her it was quite a soothing sound. It especially helped her to think when her mind was muddled. And right now, her mind was truly muddled.

For an entire week, she had been doing but sit in her throne, trying to think of possible solutions to her problems. However, every time something seemed like a good idea, she would find some way to dismiss it.

She sighed heavily and got up from seat, moving to the window for the hundredth time that week. She stared out at the dark expanse below her in which she had been reborn in centuries ago.

"Back then," she muttered to herself, "Things were so much simpler. I was immortal. I was all powerful, at least compared to all the mortals in this world. I conquered and I struck fear into the hearts of man."

But now, a new force had entered the fray. A force, though not immortal, far surpassed her in power. One that meant nothing but pain and death to any opposed him.

"My power cannot compare," Salem said quietly, looking down at her hands, "And there is no one else in this world that can. All we can do is wallow in despair, praying that he will not exterminate us all."

She returned back to her seat, feeling no better than before. This had been her routine for the last week and it made her feel sick just how weak and pathetic she was acting. Yet, it was all she could do as she hopelessly looked for a way to dispose of Frieza.

"There must be a way," she muttered, "No person is without their weaknesses. No one is without their faults. What do I have that I can use to defeat him?"  
As the simple questions circulated through her head, there was a knock at the door. She looked up and sighed. She had nearly forgotten that she wasn't the only one residing in this castle.

"Come in."

The large double doors opened, and her servants entered, all looking solemn. While Salem had been locked up inside her room, they had been down below, training themselves.

"My lady," Cinder said, bowing. The others followed suit.

Salem gestured for them to sit and they did so. There was a short silence before Cinder once more spoke, her voice nervous.

"We have come here to ask… if you have an assignment for us?"

The air became tense as Salem's servants stared at her, wondering how she would respond. Salem thought about it before saying, coolly, "That is what I am trying to calculate, Cinder. However, at the moment, all you need to do is prepare yourselves for that mission."  
Cinder slammed her fist against the table, startling everyone. Salem stared at her as the Fall Maiden gave her a furious look.

"What happened to you?! Aren't you the immortal witch of darkness?! Aren't you the one that stood up against the gods themselves?! Why now have you become weak and-"

Mid-sentence, Cinder suddenly flew back and slammed into the wall. Tyrion watched excitedly as Mercury and Emerald cried out but didn't move as Salem walked forward, her hand outstretched towards Cinder. Her eyes were glowing a dangerous red and her dark power spread through the room.

"Accuse me of being weak again, Cinder," she snarled venomously, "Tell me that I have become nothing but a coward."

Cinder struggled against the invisible force that kept her against the wall. Her eyes flared as she tried to use her maiden powers, but nothing happened. It seemed that her power was being restricted by Salem.

For a few tense moments, the other servants watched in cold silence as Cinder was punished. Then, Salem lowered her hand and the Fall Maiden fell back to the floor where she lay limp. Salem began walking back to her seat, a new gleam in her eye.

"While your rudeness is quite unacceptable, it seems your words have awoken inside of me," she said presently, sitting back in her throne, "Or at the very least, it has allowed me think clearly once more. Maybe it was because I needed to hurt someone to release my stress."

Cinder struggled to her feet, grimacing at Salem.

"I do have an assignment for you all," Salem continued, looking at everyone a smile appearing on her lips.

"And what may that be?" Cinder spat, finally straightened up.

Salem looked at her and the Fall Maiden saw the same powerful evil in her eyes that had convinced her to join Salem in the first place.

"Let's just say, our race for the Relic's is far from over."

She reached out and the double doors opened on their own. Her servants stood from their seats, bowing to her. Cinder inclined her head slightly, her expression still furious.

"Begin preparations. You will be leaving tomorrow," Salem informed.

They began to file out the door. However, before they left, Salem suddenly noticed something very odd.

"Where is Arthur Watts?"

* * *

Thunder boomed over the large fortress. Heavy rain began to pour down on the many soldiers as they headed out on missions or came back from missions, ready to report any useful information to their superiors. A few soldiers dragged prisoners with them or suspects that were in for questioning. The occasional high-pitched scream or cry of agony permeated in the storm as people were tortured for information about the location of the most wanted people in Remnant's history.

Inside the long grand throne room, Lord Frieza sat on his throne, his favorite wine in hand. He sat quietly, listening as one of his commanders gave him an update on the search for the Saiyan scum and their friends.

"We have all our teams working around the clock," the commander was saying, his voice shaking as he tried to keep his composure before the emperor, "We have many traveling to large towns and cities, spreading the description of the criminals and are even working on getting highly detailed wanted posters out on the streets of every settlement. A few teams have come back with people that have been suspected of having some info. However, so far, all the people have been proven to know nothing. Currently, we have a number of teams-"

Frieza held up a hand and the commander stopped dead.

"Let me say this, commander," Frieza began coldly, his eyes boring into the commanders, "If there is no significant progress to report, then just say that. Do not bore me with a long lecture about what your trying to do."

The commander nodded frantically, bowing low.

"Apologies, my lord! Please forgive my foolishness!"

Frieza waved him away. The commander scrambled up and sprinted out of the hall. When he had left, Frieza took a thoughtful sip of his wine. Beside him, Ginyu grunted in annoyance.

"Still no sign of those blasted Saiyans," he said gruffly, "I should be out there searching myself. I do not trust these low-down humans and animal people to find them for us."  
Frieza smiled a little at that.

"Have patience, Ginyu. If you lose yourself and rush into something, you will never get anywhere. The main thing you must remember as well is that those brats can hide forever. Knowing them, they will stubbornly start to move out again in hopes of defeating me. That was partly why I decided to broadcast myself to the world."

Ginyu glanced at him, clearly confused.

"Forgive me, my lord, but what do you mean by that exactly?"

Frieza gave him a disappointed look.

"Please do use your brain, Captain. If they see me on the news, broadcasting to the world that I was searching for them and threatened to destroy the planet, they would begin to panic and try to do something futile to stop me. The point is, I'm trying to flush them out. I expect that in the coming days, we will start getting definitive reports on their whereabouts."

Ginyu nodded, seemingly understanding. Satisfied, Frieza continued to sip his wine, letting his mind wonder. However, they were interrupted as the doors to the throne suddenly opened once more. He looked to see the commander he had just dismissed running back towards him, his face pale.

"My lord! I apologize for the sudden intrusion! However, someone is here demanding to see you!"

Frieza narrowed his eyes at the commander who cowered under his gaze.

"And what does this person need to see me for? If it's to try to complain or seek revenge, please dispose him quickly. He is interrupting my drink."

"He says he has important information for you, my lord," the commander revealed, "Information that will not only help you find your criminals but also take control of the entire world!"

That caught Frieza's attention. He smiled a little, unnerving the commander even more.

"That does sound quite enticing," he said quietly, "Yes, well then, escort this person inside. But please tell him that if his information is not satisfactory, he will meet an untimely end."

The commander bowed deeply before hurrying out of the room once more. Ginyu gave Frieza a skeptical look.

"Do you really believe some low life will give you that kind of information, my lord?" he asked.

"Not really," Frieza admitted, his lip curling into a sadistic smile, "But it shall provide me with some entertainment."

After a few moments, the doors opened once more. Frieza and Ginyu watched as a troop of soldiers escorted a man through the hall. Frieza inspected the man in question, his smirk still present.

He was well dressed, with an expensive suit under an expertly tailored coat. His mustache twitched as he looked up at Frieza, his eyes conveyed a small bit of fear that the emperor picked up quite quickly. The escort stopped before the throne, the soldiers all kneeling down in respect. The suited man did so as well, which Frieza did appreciate. This man has a sense of propriety.

"My lord Frieza," the man began, his surprisingly steady, "I am humbled to be in your grand presence."

Frieza chuckled, quite used to this type of groveling. He refilled his glass of wine, readying himself for the entertainment.

"Oh ho, my you have quite the silver tongue, don't you?"

The man chuckled nervously.

"I have been told as much by my colleagues. It is just a habit of mine. I hope it doesn't bother you, my lord."

Next to Frieza, Captain Ginyu stepped forward, glowering down at the man.

"Get on with it! Lord Frieza doesn't have time listen to you foolish banter. Just tell us the information you promised to tell us!"

The man looked at Ginyu and his composure faltered. He stared in shock for a few seconds, his mouth hanging open.

"H-Hazel! Is that you?!"

"YES! I AM!"

Ginyu did a pose, pointing his finger downward. Then he burst into laughter, leaving the man utterly confused.

"Hazel? Is that really you?"

Ginyu continued to roar with laughter, still not answering the question. That is until Frieza cleared his throat and the Captain stopped mid-laugh. He bowed towards Frieza, apologizing for his outburst before turning back to the man.

"No, I am not this Hazel man you know of. I am the illustrious Captain Ginyu and I used my body change technique to take over this body. As for the previous owner, who you call Hazel… well, he's long dead."

Ginyu grinned cruelly as the man began to sweat, taking an instinctive step back. Frieza, growing tired of this charade, once more cleared his throat. When complete silence fell, he gazed upon the man once more, his smile replaced by a cold stare.

"I think it's time you tell us who you are and what you have come here to tell us," he demanded coolly.

The man nodded quickly. He stepped forward once more, fidgeting with his mustache.

"Yes, of course, my lord."

He bowed down.

"My name is Arthur Watts. I am a former Atlesian scientist, though I was thrown out when they deemed my style of work to be too… dark for their tastes. Up until a few days ago, I served under the dark witch Salem, who you have encountered before."

Frieza focused on Watts, his interest beginning to rise. He remembered meeting Salem in the forest when he had found that black creature with a sphere for a head. He hadn't thought much of her since, but he did suppose that she had been some sort of ruler. He gestured for Watts to continue.

"However, after you destroyed the continent of Anima, I decided that staying with Salem was not in my best interest. I knew that if she found out about my betrayal that she would have me killed so I made sure to take a slow but incredibly careful road here."

Frieza leaned back in this throne, sipping his wine.

"So, you seek my protection," he said, "And in exchange, you claim to have information I would find helpful?"

Watts nodded.

"Go on then," Frieza gestured, "Enlighten me, servant of the witch. What do you have that could interest me?"

Watts gulped but did not back down.

"Yes, my lord. You see, I have noticed that since you have come to this world, you seem to be completely uninterested, or more likely uninformed about the existence of something very powerful that we have here."

"Oh?" Frieza narrowed his eyes, "And what is that exactly, doctor?"

"The Relics, my lord," Watts supplied, his face covered in sweat.

Frieza considered this for a second. It was true that this was the first he was hearing of this. But would it aid him at all in his current objective of killing those meddlesome brats? He decided to hear him out in the end, thinking that if nothing useful came of this, he will just kill him.

"Go on," Frieza said.

"There are four Relics in Remnant," explained Watts, "They are ancient artifacts, created by the gods themselves. It is said that when the four Relics are brought together, the two brother gods of light and darkness will be summoned."

"Sounds familiar," Frieza said, smiling a little, "Do they by any chance grant wishes?"

Watts blinked, a little confused before shaking his head.

"I do not believe so, my lord."

Frieza sat back, disappointment running through him.

"A shame. But no matter. However, I do wonder how you know that these Relics of yours would summon the gods."

"My former master, Salem," Watts quickly explained, "She is, as you probably know immortal and lived during a time when the gods inhabited this world along with us. However, she rebelled against them and she was punished, given immortality by them to suffer for all-"

"STOP!"

Frieza's voice echoed within the large throne room. Everyone within froze, completely silent, their eyes on Frieza as he stood up from his throne, discarding his wine glass to the side. He came down the steps and stopped before Watts. Despite being taller, Watts had to use all his willpower to resist the urge to run as the emperor glowered straight into his eyes.

"What did you just say?" Frieza asked quietly, his voice deadly calm.

"I-I s-said that when she rebelled, S-Salem was given i-immortality by the g-gods to suffer for all e-eternity," Watts stuttered in a cold sweat.

Frieza was silent for a moment. Then he turned to the soldiers that had escorted Watts to the throne room.

"Recall the search teams at once. I have a new mission for them. One that takes new priority over the search for those accursed monkeys."

The soldiers nodded, running out the room as fast as possible to carry out the order. Behind him, Ginyu came to join Frieza. He himself looked just as stricken as everyone else, but he asked gingerly, "What do you mean by doing this, Lord Frieza? Are you really-"

Frieza turned back to Watts, clearly ignoring the Captain's foolish questions. Instead, he once more bore his eyes into Watts.

"Where are these Relics?"

Watts moistened his mouth, trying not to panic. However, he felt that one wrong word would result in his painful demise.

"Three of them are located in the academies of Atlas, Vacuo, and Vale. You nearly destroyed the Vale Relic after what you did to Beacon academy, but according to Salem, the Relic there is still intact."

"And the fourth one?"

Frieza's voice was a low hiss, dripping with venom. Watts clenched his fists, his finger nails drawing blood in the palms of his hands. This was the question he was most afraid to answer. He knew that it would anger the murderous emperor. However, not responding was not an option either.

"I-it was located at Haven Academy in Anima. However, it was taken by the group of Huntsmen and other worldly fighters during the battle there and they must have escaped with it before you destroyed the continent."

Frieza's expression went completely dark. Watts backed away quickly, unable to resist any longer. He wasn't the only one. Ginyu was also backing off, his face contorted in terror as he watched his master shake in absolute rage.

And then Frieza raised his head roared, a tremendous roar that shook the foundations of the fortress. He exerted a massive amount of power, blowing away both Watts and Ginyu and causing a web of cracks to form on the throne room floor. For a few seconds, Watts was sure the entire building was going to collapse from the sheer power and that after everything he had done, he would meet an untimely death by being buried alive in rubble.

But as soon as it had started, the shaking began to subside. Frieza's roar faded and within a few seconds, only silence remained. Watts, deathly pale and shaking, stared as the tyrant straightened up and glared down at him. Once more, he was convinced that he was about to die. Then Frieza spoke, his voice dark but calm.

"You have earned the privilege of being my advisor, doctor. Your information has proven to be invaluable. I hope you can live up to my expectations from here on out."

Watts fell before him, groveling pathetically. But the doctor didn't care.

"Thank you, my lord. Thank you."

Frieza turned away, walking back to his throne. As he did so, he barked at Ginyu, who was scrambling to get back on his feet.

"Captain Ginyu! I have a mission for you!"

"Yes, Lord Frieza!" he straightened, looking serious. He didn't dare pose at a time like this.

"I need you to head for Atlas and retrieve the Relic there. Take a few teams of men with you. However, it shouldn't be too hard seeing as we have control of the army there and their business. Yet, I suspect you may run into some resistance, in which case eliminate anyone that dares get in your way!"

"YES, MY LORD!"

Ginyu sprinted at once out of the throne room, leaving Watts alone with the alien emperor. As he watched Frieza pick up his glass of wine and resume drinking, a dark look of ill intent on his face, Watts realized that despite all the terrifying and horrific things he had seen and experienced while under the service of Salem did not even compare to the sight of seeing Lord Frieza angry.

"He won't lose," he whispered to himself, "He will win. Remnant doesn't stand a chance."

* * *

 **A daring betrayal leaves the most dangerous person on Remnant with information that may prove costly for our heroes. However, they have yet to find out they are now not the only ones chasing the Relics. A three-way race is about to start as the three remaining Relics lay in wait. Whoever is able to gather them all will hold the fate of Remnant in their grasp. Who will it be? Find out next time on Dragon Ball R!  
**

 **Authors Note: Hello lads! Once more, I would like to apologize for the huge wait. Unfortunately, with college around the corner, gaps like this may become common place. In addition to this, since I am beginning to deviate from the base storyline of RWBY, I am going to need more time figure out how to tell this story well. However, I would like to assure everyone reading that even there is such a large gap, I am not giving up on this story. I have gone too far to give up now anyway! Anyway, I would like to thank each and every one of you for supporting this story all this time and waiting so patiently for this chapter. Please leave some reviews and feel free to PM me for any questions. As always, I can't thank you guys enough I will see you next time! Bye bye!**

 **P.S.: I will be starting to hide certain references to another fantastic anime in each chapter. See if you can the one here!**


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